Economic Development

The “100” considers economic empowerment as a necessary step toward creating a just society, not only here in the United States, but for black people around the world. When we think of economic empowerment we are thinking about the individual’s or a community’s ability to be self-determined in creating dreams, pursuing them and ultimately perpetuating them by establishing the mechanisms to sustain generational wealth. Our program initiatives promote economic self-sufficiency through financial literacy, family wealth building and entrepreneurship.

100 W.A.Y.$ – Youth Financial Literacy Program

The Board of Directors of 100 Black Men of Alton has developed a Youth Financial Literacy Program, 100 W.A.Y.$. (The W.A.Y.$. is an acronym for Wealth Achieved by Youth Strategically). This program will teach financial literacy, and it will instruct and mentor 15 to 20 low-income, predominately African American, male students in grades ten through twelve. Other program participant criteria will include good educational potential, interest in school, good attendance, solid academic performance, and a positive attitude. We are seeking to make Alton Housing Authority resident students a significant part of this target group. The economic concepts and the skills taught will be those necessary to manage money and to become wise investors. Mentoring the 100 Way program concepts will be injected concurrently to engage participants in personal development and character building activities. The Alton 100 intends to break the cycle of poverty for program participants by stressing the importance of planning, preparation, and hard work to personal success. Interested men who have a solid background in Financial Planning, can develop access to program funding and are interested in working with high school aged youth may contact program managers Leonard Hawthorne at 618-466-8723 or Bobby Collins, Sr. at 618-466-3447.

The joint effort funding and support for this program is provided by several sources. The 100 Black Men will provide administrative, instructional, and mentoring in-kind services. Alton Housing Authority Funding will provide needed supplies and equipment and administrative cost reimbursement. We are thankful that U. S. Bancorp Foundation has provided some funding that we will `expend for start-up costs. The Alton Unit 11 School district will provide some instructional services, classroom space and coordination services. Parental involvement will also be stressed, and parents will be invited to sign a joint agreement outlining their role and responsibility. The program is currently fully implemented but only partially developed. We are seeking additional funding for field trip and consulting services that will bring students in contact with individuals working in financial institutions who can share current and first-hand knowledge.

A bi-annual program evaluation will be developed to make certain that the program is meeting its goals, and to determine the program’s overall effectiveness. We will also develop program surveys to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the participants. In addition, the program will utilize pre and post testing and topical quizzes during the instructional period to determine student progress.

Entrepreneurship

Four-year program for middle school and high school youth.
Program provided career training about owning and operating business.
Program provided a feeder system to our scholarship program.
Students marketed, developed, and sold calendars.