PROGRAM FACTS + IMPACT
Based on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Working Families, SparkPoint Centers were developed in 2009 to work with low-income individuals and families long-term, looking at all aspects of their financial health, with the goal of achieving financial prosperity. Although each center looks different, all are a collaborative of multiple nonprofit and government entities that work together in a single location to seamlessly provide integrated services to assist families in increasing their income, building their credit, and accumulating their assets.
SparkPoint coaches utilize a family-centered coaching model. Coaches work with clients to identify the goals and needs of their entire families and to build strong community networks. It is a trauma-informed and equity-centered approach rooted in an understanding of the persistent effects of systemic racism and poverty.
SparkPoint is also a data-driven program that rigorously tracks client progress toward key financial goals. The program has impacted low-income families across the Bay Area through intensive one-on-one coaching.