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Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network

Four women smiling together in office room
Building a financial empowerment community of practice in Manitoba.

About The Network

The Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network (MFEN) is a cross-sectoral collaborative that seeks to reduce poverty and improve financial well-being by enhancing the collective impact of financial empowerment initiatives in Manitoba. The network serves as a support structure for the development, implementation and expansion of a continuum of financial empowerment initiatives that provide pathways for financially vulnerable community members to move from financial crisis to meeting their basic needs to achieving sustainable livelihoods. These financial empowerment initiatives focus on the following pillars:
 

  1. Financial information education, coaching and counselling
  2. Access to income boosting benefits and tax credits
  3. Access to safe and affordable financial products and services
  4. Opportunities to reduce debt, grow savings and build assets
  5. Consumer awareness and protection

Goals

The Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network works to increase the scale and the impact of financial empowerment initiatives through:
 

  • Increasing the capacity of community-based organizations and large scale service delivery systems to provide financial empowerment initiatives
  • Promoting institutional and policy change to reduce barriers and improve financial well-being
  • Building public awareness and understanding of financial empowerment approaches

Structure

The MFEN Steering Committee guides the vision and strategy of the network, aligns activities, advances best practices, raises resources and supports the implementation of financial empowerment initiatives.

Empower Manitoba is a program delivery collaborative that works in tandem with MFEN and is engaged in collective efforts to strengthen the delivery of financial empowerment programs.
 

  • MFEN Working Groups address systematic issues:
  • Manitoba Access to Identification Network
  • Manitoba Financial Empowerment Policy Committee
  • Access to Banking Roundtable

Strategic Plan

The Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network and Empower Manitoba developed a joint five-year Strategic Plan in 2022. Download the Strategic Plan here.

The strategic plan includes 5-Year Goals for increasing the scope and scale of financial empowerment initiatives in Manitoba.

Access to Income Boosting Benefits & Tax Credits

  • 70,000 tax returns filed
  • $175 million in income benefits
  • 5,000 pieces of ID
  • 500 service providers trained to file taxes or support benefit applications

Access to Safe & Affordable Financial Products & Services

  • 3,000 bank or credit union accounts opened by unbanked / underbanked
  • 850 people access safe & affordable loan products
  • $3.75 million in safe & affordable loan products disbursed

Addressing Systemic Issues, Consumer Awareness & Protection

  • 2 research initiatives
  • 3 policy and systems change initiatives

Financial Information, Coaching & Counselling

  • 11,000 people access financial literacy
  • 7,000 people receive financial coaching or counselling
  • 1,000 service providers trained to provide financial information / education

Opportunities to Reduce Debt, Grow Savings & Build Assets
 

  • $560,000 saved by matched savings participants
  • $1 million of assets purchased by matched savings participants
  • 700 RESPs opened
  • 150 people access debt reduction programs

Steering Committee Members

Founding and Executive Member

  • Assiniboine Credit Union
  • Community Financial Counselling Services
  • Province of Manitoba – Department of Families
  • SEED Winnipeg Inc
  • United Way Winnipeg

 
Members
 

  • Menno Simons College, Canadian Mennonite University
  • Canada Revenue Agency
  • City of Winnipeg – Community Services
  • Community Futures
  • Community Unemployed Help Centre
  • Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM)
  • Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre
  • Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations (MANSO)
  • Me-Dian Credit Union
  • Public Interest Law Centre
  • Service Canada
  • Social Planning Council of Winnipeg
  • Southeast Resource Development Council
  • Southern Health
  • The Winnipeg Foundation

Community Forums and Learning Events

MFEN coordinates learning exchanges with members of the broader community of practice. These events strengthen collective efforts by building understanding of financial empowerment approaches, identifying barriers, building capacity, and sharing solutions. Past events include:
 

  • Improving Access to Manitoba Benefits – December 2023
  • Tax Learning Exchange – May 2019
  • Consumer Protection Forum – June 2019
  • Sustainable Livelihoods Forum – May 2017
  • Tax Forum – September 2017