EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CULTURAL CONTEXT (Winter 2023). Founded by immigrants in 2009, ProsperityME is dedicated to providing financial empowerment resources and assistance to the New Mainer community. Its mission is to empower, through education and counseling, members of refugee and immigrant communities to invest in themselves to build financial stability, careers, businesses and wealth. ProsperityME provides direct support to the community and offers no-cost educational classroom programs that teach essential financial skills, build confidence and prepare new immigrants to successfully enter the workforce.

ProsperityME has over 13 years of experience providing economic empowerment to the immigrant community in Maine. Because they are an organization founded and led by immigrants, they share in common with clients a cultural context that is lacking with other providers. A staff of 15 is composed primarily of immigrants from the continent of Africa; 17 languages are spoken on staff.

ProsperityME’s goal is to provide critical financial education to new immigrants so they have the knowledge needed to succeed in a credit-based economy, and not fall prey to scams and predatory lending common in low-income and black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities. ProsperityME programs change behavior around money for the better. Support programs, such as the PROSPER Scholarship, provide needed assistance in surmounting barriers that could have been impassable without the organization’s help. For their students to be successful after graduation, ProsperityME focuses strategically on financial education, small business support and workforce development programs.

In the image, graduates of the 2019 Job Training class celebrate with their completion certificates.

Clowes Fund Field(s) of Interest: Workforce (Youth) Development

Grantees