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SHORT-TERM PLAN (Mar. 2023 – Dec. 2023) Enhancement of Existing City Programs Enhancement 1: Venues, Parks, and Arts’ Youth Jobs SB Youth Jobs SB is a year-round program, primarily in the summer months, that employs youth from ages 14 – 20 through Venues, Parks, and Arts to provide valuable financial tools and job experience, helping reduce youth unemployment, specifically minority youth unemployment, as a result. The City also convenes local financial institutions and selects financial education curriculum for participants to complete during the program. To continue financially empowering South Bend youth through Youth Jobs SB, the City will fund a savings match for participants and convene local financial partners to assist with obtaining parental permission for the creation of youth banking accounts for the saving program as needed. Youth Jobs SB Enhancements • Phase 1 (2023): Creation of a Youth Summer Savings Plan for Youth Jobs SB participants • Phase 2 (2024-2025): Develop budget and funding mechanism for Youth Summer Savings Match for Youth Jobs SB participants • Phase 3 (2026-Onward): Provide Youth Jobs SB participants access to financial management providers in South Bend. Through these enhancements, Youth Jobs SB participants are able to craft a savings plan to learn the financial tools for future savings and financial management. A savings match will be provided to incentivize the savings plan, increasing the financial foundation of Youth Jobs SB participants. Providing access to financial management providers allows the youth to have relevant and available services to grow their finances and prepare for initial wealth building. Enhancement 2: Department of Community Investment’s Pathways Program The Pathways program works with Purdue University’s Manufacturing Senior Industry Advisory to perform employer outreach for an occupational training program. The City then selects areas of employee training and funds this initiative as a benefit to residents. As stated earlier, income levels and entry-level positions have impacted Black residents’ ability to become financially stable. In recent years, the Pathways program enrollment slightly declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consequentially reducing the number of training options available. Therefore, a broader set of training options could attract more participants to the program. To financially empower workers, the City will work to promote the Pathways program by increasing its visibility and effectiveness to attract both more participants and more organizations with training options. Pathways Enhancements • Phase 1 (2023): Launch a cross-promotional marketing campaign with the Community Homebuyer’s Corporation to boost program visibility and increase program participation • Phase 2 (2024-2025): New job budgeting and asset acquisition through the FEC management principles for worker financial management support KPI TARGET METRIC DESIRED OUTCOME Youth reached in Kennedy Park and LaSalle Park per year 50 youth in target neighborhoods Increase project impact and awareness of initiative for further growth Safe bank accounts opened per year 40 accounts in target neighborhoods Develop safe financial foundation for more residents in key neighborhoods Dollars saved by youth per year $100 per year Begin wealth-building at an early age Key Performance Indicators (2023 – 2024) 30 FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT BLUEPRINT