Bank On Wayne
Learn
Save
Succeed
Bank On Wayne is a financial literacy program that provides instruction in budgeting, banking and managing credit. Bank on Wayne encourages participants to operate within the financial mainstream and avoid costly alternative financial services. Knowledgeable bank
representatives facilitate financial classes.
LEARN
EMPOWER YOURSELF by attending workshops to increase your financial knowledge!
SAVE
USE THE KNOWLEDGE gained through the Money Smart
program and start keeping more of the money you earn!
SUCCEED
OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT with a partner financial institution and begin putting your knowledge to work!
Program Details
Adult Budgeting
Series
With guidance from the local banking community, BOW focuses on understanding one’s personal money values, income and expenses and creating a functioning, realistic plan to reach one’s goals and create financial stability. The program also addresses the importance of a positive banking relationship, as well as the necessity of establishing and maintaining good credit.
Youth Budgeting Series
Youth edition offers an overview of fundamental financial topics, such as understanding the value of money, understanding income, expenses and goal setting and the importance of establishing and maintaining good credit. This course does not cover everything a young adult needs to know, but it does encourage participants to ask questions and provides resources to find answers.
Preparing for Homeownership
Buying a home is a big step and is often the largest purchase an individual or a family will make, and there is so much to know. Participants of this course will complete a short survey to find out if they are ready for this big step. They will also learn if they pre-qualify for a mortgage and how much, how to understand their current credit situation and how to make changes, if needed. Participants will also learn about the closing process and saving to maintain a home.
Request A Presentation
Group presentations are available upon request. Please use the link below for additional information or to book your presentation.
Student Stories
Meet Billie Jo
“She is a great example of what the Bank On Wayne program can do to teach people the skills needed to achieve and maintain financial stability.”
Featured Above: Billie Jo with sons, Hank (left) and Tyler (right)
Billie Jo came to Bank On Wayne (BOW) through the Housing Authority of Goldsboro’s ROSS (Resident Opportunity for Self-Sufficiency) program. She is a single mom that was living in public housing, but Billie Jo was highly motivated to transition to an independent lifestyle.
At the time she started BOW, Billie Jo was employed part-time, but after completing the training on budgeting she began to recognize that she was going to need full-time employment in order to come up with a balanced budget.
The company she worked for offered her additional hours, however public transportation was her only option at that time, and the bus schedule would not accommodate the available work schedule. One of her financial goals was to buy a car and eliminate this barrier. Bank On Wayne Program Manager, Lee Hulse provided one-on-one coaching to help Billie Jo use the information she had learned to create a plan to achieve her goals. Following the plan, saving her money, Billie Jo was able to successfully purchase a car and take on the additional hours at work. She felt empowered. The plan worked! Billie Jo continues to work hard to achieve her financial goals annually and has been able to raise her credit score from low 400's to over 700. Doing so has allowed her family to live in their very own apartment and take a family trip to the beach for the first time.
Budgeting In A Crisis
In 2024, Literacy Connections received a grant from PNC Foundation to work in partnership with Wayne Uplift Domestic Violence Program developing a pilot program, originally titled Family Economics for Victims of Domestic Violence Program, designed for women and children who stay at the local shelter. The PNC Foundation grant enabled us to do research, obtain training, and deliver financial education specific to the needs of people in crisis.
Financial control is a common element in abusive relationships, with up to 99% of domestic violence survivors experiencing financial abuse in some form.
Think for a minute how overwhelming budgeting would be for a person going through a crisis with no income, no savings, and only the clothes on their back. This can be the experience of victims of domestic violence.The question is, “How do you budget when you do not have income?” This both challenged and motivated us to find an answer that would help people in this difficult position. We had to look at things from another perspective entirely.
People in crisis must rebuild their financial security from the foundation up. They need help building a plan for starting over. In this situation, a budgeting plan must start with setting goals and researching the expenses to reach those goals. The final step is to address the amount of money needed to make their plan work and where that money will come from. It sounds so simple, but in times of crisis when someone is struggling psychologically, it can hamper their ability to connect to the confidence, creativity and resilience that are crucial aspects to building financial security.
While the staff at our local domestic violence shelter work with women and families to obtain protective orders, provide counseling and case management, and work towards establishing basic needs for these women, Literacy Connections worked alongside them to address their unique financial needs.
Our goal through the Budgeting in a Crisis program is to empower low-moderate income women who are rebuilding their financial security by providing concrete steps to financial independence and self-sufficiency.
Thank You Partner Banks
BANK ON WAYNE is provided in partnership with eleven banking organizations within the community that serve as the Bank on Wayne Advisory Committee.
(Click on any bank logo to learn more about each individual bank.)
