Funding received for literacy program

READ Saskatoon is one of 12 organizations to recently receive funding from the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund. “Eighty per cent of the clients at READ Saskatoon are employed with most earning a low income,” said Sheryl Harrow, Executive Director, READ Saskatoon. “The TD Financial Literacy Grant will ensure our community has increased access to mainstream financial education opportunities.  It will also help us to position financial literacy as an essential skill, alongside reading, writing, and numeracy, allowing for systemic change within families and more broadly within our community.” Administered by Social and Enterprise Development Innovations the fund provides grants to charitable and non-profit organizations that support and promote financial literacy for low income and economically disadvantaged people in Canada. Since the fund’s inception in 2010, it has awarded approximately $5 million to 67 community organizations. Grants are awarded for innovation, research and development, and strategic program development of community-based financial literacy initiatives. “Improving the financial literacy and acumen of Aboriginal peoples is like putting in place an essential building block in the foundation of our Aboriginal communities. It is important that we understand that many of the day-to-day choices we make have a financial impact on us…. Improved financial skills lead to improved decision-making,” said Terry Goodtrack, President and CEO of the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada.