Financial Education Center

The Financial Education Center (FEC), a program of Dane County UW-Extension, was opened in 2005 in a low-income neighborhood in the South Madison area with the purpose of offering consistent, reliable and integrated financial education, counseling, asset building services and referrals in a central and familiar location.  Historically, funding has come from foundation grants, financial institutions, utility providers and the local United Way.  A 501©3, Friends of the FEC, was created to allow receipt of foundation grant dollars.

As the number of Dane County children growing up in poverty continues to grow, it is highly likely that their care-givers are not financially capable to consistently provide food on a daily basis.  As low-income family care-givers struggle to make ends meet as a result of job insecurity, rising food and housing costs and decreasing public assistance programs, the impact on their children’s long-term health and ability to succeed in school is severely jeopardized. 

The Financial Education Center's mission is to teach money management skills to Dane County individuals and families.  We mobilize volunteers and staff to provide unbiased, accessible financial education through workshops, one-on-one coaching and other asset building services.  As a program of  Dane County UW-Extension, we provide information, tools and other resources that give the necessary skills to increase credit worthiness, reduce barriers to housing, eat healthy on a budget, and improve overall financial capability.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Partnership Project, which is a program of the Center, provides free income tax preparation for low-wage workers, seniors and those with disabilities. Those who are eligible for state and federal Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits are able to file for those tax credits with the assistance of trained volunteers tax preparers. The Financial Education Center coordinates front of house volunteers for the Richard Dilley Tax Center (located at 2206 South Park Street) and supports every aspect of the tax center during tax season.

The Financial CHANGE Program provides individuals with support using Coaching, a Hands-on approach, Accountability, Networking, Goal Setting, and Education. This program matches participants/partners to a trained volunteer coach from the community. The coach is not a financial adviser and has nothing to sell, but will help to keep track of the participants/partners' financial goals and work with them to reach those goals. The participants/partners are connected with a volunteer coach for a 6-month period.

A variety of classes offered by the Center in the community assist participants in reaching their financial goals. Classes cover topics such as budgeting and money management, credit worthiness, identity theft, retirement and estate planning, and making ends meet. The staff at the Center work with many community partners to offer classes and services to enhance their programs. The Financial Educator Network is also supported by the Financial Education Center.