LISC Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC)
LISC Financial Opportunity Centers® (FOC) provide employment and career counseling, one-on-one financial coaching and education and low-cost financial products that help build credit, savings and assets. They also connect clients with income supports such as food stamps, utilities assistance and affordable health insurance. The cornerstone of the LISC FOC model is providing these services in an integrated way—rather than as stand-alone services—and with a long-term commitment to helping clients reach their goals.
LISC FOC's provide families with services across three areas:
- Employment placement and career improvement
- Financial education and coaching
- Public benefits access
We’ve learned that integrated or “bundled” services lead to concrete gains in net income and job retention. Research shows that FOC clients who take advantage of combined services are 50 percent more likely to land a well-paying job than people receiving employment services alone. And long-term job retention—holding a job for a year or more—almost doubles when financial coaching reinforces the work of employment counseling.
These core services are integrated together and offer a “one stop shop” for building income and wealth. The model for these centers was developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Families who achieve financial independence are better positioned to contribute to thriving, sustainable communities. The efforts of LISC Flint focus on helping families earn more money, keep more of the money they earn, and build assets to fund education, retirement and other financial goals.
What we offer
- Grants that help community organizations establish, staff and run FOCs in neighborhoods that need them, covering everything from start-up to operating costs
- Technical assistance and training to help FOC staff reach out to potential clients and offer effective coaching and job counseling
- Data collection tools that help FOCs tailor support for individual clients and inform the work at large
- Professional networking support in the form of national and regional meetings, collaborative groups and an online library of resources on FOCs and similar integrated service delivery models.
Additional Resources
An independent study by the Economic Mobility Corporation shows LISC's Financial Opportunity Centers program surpasses other programs
Research on the efficacy of our Financial Opportunities Center model