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3. Prosper Canada: Who we are
Founded in 1986, Prosper Canada is a national charity dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Canadians living in poverty through program and policy innovation.
As Canada’s leading champion of financial empowerment, we work with governments, businesses and groups to develop and promote financial policies, programs and resources that transform lives and foster the prosperity of all Canadians.
Prosper Canada’s programming in financial literacy and financial coaching is part of the work of the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy, co-founded and supported by TD Bank Group.
We help service systems and organizations in all sectors to build proven financial empowerment approaches into their businesses in ways that:
Are sustainable
Help them achieve their goals
Tangibly increase the financial well-being of the low-income people they serve.
My name is Glenna Harris, and I am Manger of Learning & Training here at Prosper Canada.
Prosper Canada works with partners in all sectors to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of their income, have access to the financial programs, products, services and advice they need to build their financial well-being.
We see access to education and savings as a key part of building this financial well-being.
Prosper Canada’s programming in financial literacy and financial coaching is part of the work of the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy, co-founded and supported by TD Bank Group.

4. Today’s presentation (1:00-2:00pm ET)
1. Welcome and introduction
2. Saving for higher education
3. Our speakers:
Allyson Schmidt, Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie (ON)
Rocio Vasquez, Family Services of Greater Vancouver (BC)
4. Q&A
We have an exciting presentation planned for you today.
Our presenters are two individuals who help individuals living on low incomes to sign up for RESPs, as an ongoing part of their financial empowerment programming. You'll hear about what kind of strategies they've found that work, and the kinds of challenges they face.
Next week is Education Savings Week!
November 18-24, under the theme: Good Habits Start Early
o   ESW is a time to encourage all Canadians to get the facts about education savings and for organizations to raise public awareness of the various government financial incentives available to families simply by opening Registered Education Savings Plans for their children.

5. 1. Introductions: Our panel
Allyson Schmidt
Credit Counselling of Sault Ste. Marie and District
allyson
@creditcounsellingssm.ca
Rocio Vasquez
Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV)
Glenna Harris
Prosper Canada
gharris
@prospercanada.org
We are very excited to introduce our panel of speakers to you today!
Allyson Schmidt, Financial Empowerment Coach, has been working in the social services field since 2012 with experience in poverty law, food security, health, community arts and Indigenous issues. With education in Community Economic and Social Development and graduate studies in Sociology, Allyson is a passionate advocate for individuals and communities of people who face social and economic barriers. Allyson is a single mother to a child with a disability as well as a dedicated foster parent.
Rocio Vasquez…
Both are part of the National Financial Empowerment Champions project, funded by ESDC

6. Poll Question What area do you work in?
Community agency/Not-for-profit
Municipal government
Provincial or federal government
Financial institution
Other?

7. Poll Question
In your work, do you help people sign up for RESPs or the Canada Learning Bond?
Yes, frequently or as main focus of my work
Yes, occasionally
No, but I would like to start

8. Children with education savings are more likely to attend post-secondary education
Having an RESP encourages saving for post-secondary education
Two-thirds of families with Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and incomes under $45,000 reported that the RESP encouraged them to start saving earlier than otherwise*
Youth with RESP savings are more likely to attend post-secondary education
Having education savings fosters motivation and expectation to attend higher education**
*The Omega Foundation. Family Savings for Post-Secondary Education. November 2016.
**Marc Frenette. Investments in Registered Education Savings Plans and Post-Secondary Attendance. Statistics Canada Economic Insights. April 2017.
Students with savings are more likely to pursue PSE, helping form a “college-bound identity” that is not deterred by obstacles
In Canada, decision to pursue PSE is more likely influenced by motivation and expectations, that can take years to develop
Having education savings fosters educational aspirations

9. Additional Canada Education Savings Grant (A-CESG)
In Canada, the RESP is the type of account that holds education savings. You can contribute your own money to it at any time.
Tax exempt savings accounts
Part of child’s taxable income once withdrawn for PSE
However, in Canada there are also a few different financial supports available for families living on low or moderate incomes, just for education savings.
Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) offers a Matched contribution to an RESP, max amount of $500
Open to families of all income levels
Additional Canada Education Savings Grant (A-CESG)
Additional contribution of
20% of first $500 annually for low income families
10% of first $500 for middle income families
Canada Learning Bond (CLB)
Payment of $500 in first year of eligibility
$100/yr in subsequent years, to a max of $2000
For low income families, children born in 2004 or later
IN order to access any of these, you must first have an RESP, and for for the CLB there are a few other requirements

10. What do you need for the RESP and CLB?
To open an RESP
A Social Insurance Number (SIN) for the child and for the person opening the RESP (i.e. the parent, grandparent, etc)
An RESP provider that meets your needs (i.e. a financial institution)
To be eligible for the Canada Learning Bond, you must:
Be from a low-income family (adjusted for family size)
Be born on or after January 1, 2004
Be a resident of Canada
Have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN) and birth certificate
Be named in an RESP
To open an RESP
A Social Insurance Number (SIN) for the child and for the person opening the RESP (i.e. the parent, grandparent, etc)
An RESP provider that meets your needs (i.e. a financial institution)
To be eligible for the Canada Learning Bond, you must:
Be from a low-income family (adjusted for family size)
Be born on or after January 1, 2004
Be a resident of Canada
Have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Be named in an RESP

11. Challenges: Take-up of RESPs and the CLB
Families with higher income and net worth are more likely to have RESP investments*
Lower RESP take-up for low income families
Only 37% of parents with incomes <$32,000 hold RESPs, compared to 68% of parents with incomes >$120,000
Low take-up for the Canada Learning Bond
As of 2016 only 34.7% of children eligible for the Canada Learning Bond have received it, despite increasing take-up**
*Marc Frenette. Investments in Registered Education Savings Plans and Postsecondary Attendance. April 2017
**Canada.ca. Increasing Take-Up of the Canada Learning Bond. August
Take-up of RESP is much higher among families with higher incomes
These families have more assets to contribute, and also higher levels of parental education
Despite the availability of the Canada Learning Bond, take-up of this benefit is also still fairly low
This is something you’ll be hearing from our panelists Allyson and Rocio as well – support for RESP or CLB signups can often be high touch, where signing up 1-2 per week is actually quite a a high success rate

12. SmartSAVER: Helping families access no-fee RESPs and CLB
Educational information about how to access RESPs and the Canada Learning Bond
‘Start My RESP’ application connects families with financial institutions to get started with a no-fee RESP account
Ideal for families on low incomes
Community page with tools and resources: 
SmartSAVER helps Canadian families start saving for their children’s education with information on free government money and online access to get savings started.
SmartSAVER is a non-profit community project. Our goal is to make it easier for families to understand and access the government money that is available for education after high school using a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).
First, SmartSAVER provides families with the information they need to get Government money for their children’s education.
Second, using the Start My RESP application, families can start their application for an RESP and the Canada Learning Bond online. SmartSAVER has teamed up with Financial Institutions across Canada that will help applicants get an RESP started with $0: no enrolment fee, no annual fee and no contribution required.

13. Challenges: The risks of group RESP plans
What is a Group RESP?
An investment product designed to “pool” your contributions with others’ RESP contributions
Requires commitment to making regular payments
Why are there risks for people on low-incomes?
Can be detrimental if the subscriber can’t keep up with regular contributions
Harder to change the contribution schedule
High fees: for exiting the plan early, for missing a scheduled contribution, reducing personal spending to make contributions
What is a Group RESP?
An investment product designed for saving for a child’s RESP
“Pools” your contributions with others’ RESP contributions
Requires commitment to making regular payments
Typically involve high fees and sales charges (unlike no-fee accounts offered by financial institutions)
Why are there risks for people on low-incomes?
Can be detrimental if the subscriber’s income level is too low to keep up with the regular contributions
Harder to change the contribution schedule
High fees: for exiting the plan early, for missing a scheduled contribution, reducing personal spending to make contributions
Group RESPs better suited for families with stable or high incomes, and who are certain their child will be attending post-secondary education
Often have appeal – in-home enrollment, fixed contribution schedule, restrictions on accessing savings, pooled investments

14. 3. Our speakers
In just a minute you’ll be hearing from our speakers Allyson Schmidt and Rocio Vasquez, both of whom have been working in RESP signups for the last couple of years as part of Prosper Canada partnership projects.
Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie & District is a partner in our Ontario Financial Empowerment Champions project, which is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.
Family Services of Greater Vancouver is a partner in our National Financial Empowerment Champions project, which is funded by ESDC Canada.
Both projects are working to deliver financial empowerment programming in support of several interventions, such as financial coaching, tax filing, and support to open RESPs.

15. Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie & District
A non-profit, registered charitable organization, member agency of the United Way and accredited member of Credit Counselling Canada
Providing practical assistance and guidance to people with debt and money management problems since 1969
Services available for families and individuals from any age group, culture, or income level
Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie & District is a non-profit, registered charitable organization, a member agency of the United Way and an accredited member of Credit Counselling Canada. Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie & District has been providing practical assistance and guidance to people with debt and money management problems in Sault Ste. Marie & District since Services are available for families and individuals from any age group, culture, or income level.
Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie & District is a collaborative partner through the Ontario Financial Empowerment Champions (Ontario FEC) project and works in partnership with Sudbury Community Service Centre to deliver proven financial empowerment interventions to people living on low incomes in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. The Ontario FEC project is funded by the Government of Ontario. Please contact us for more information or to set up a confidential appointment at

16. Best practices What is your pitch?
Need to continuously talk about RESPs whenever possible
What is the relationship between an RESP and the Canada Learning Bond?
RESP as the ‘container’ for the CLB
Why is it important?
How are you making it easy and exciting?
This is difficult for me to put into bullet point. I find that RESP sign ups come from me constantly talking about them to anyone and everyone, regardless of where I am or who I am with. I work the RESP game whenever I can.
The passion for it is key and delivering that in an elevator pitch is important. People hear free money and immediately their mind goes to it being a scam, especially with RESPs. In my time on this project I have heard many stories about people being burned by group RESP plans.
Knowing the misconceptions about RESPs is very important and being able to speak to them clearly and effectively to convince people quickly is key. The uptake numbers on the CLB illustrate the lack of awareness and understanding of just how completely amazing this program is. When one really takes a look at the program and how it works, it does seem too good to be true. There is literally no other investment scheme that offers these type of incentives. If we looked at another investment like this, it would probably be illegal!
We are faced with scepticism, lack of awareness, apathy, I’ve even had people be angry that they can access it for some of their children and not others. So how do we break down the concept of RESPs, the Canada Learning Bond, how it works and why people need to get one open now?
One important thing we need to explain is the relationship between an RESP and the Canada Learning Bond. The RESP is the container for the government to put the CLB. That’s it. Without the container for the government to put the bond, none of that magic is happening.

17. Lessons learned Tracking Follow up Enthusiasm Partnerships
Intake, case notes
Follow up
Build relationships and trust; Follow-up phone calls
Enthusiasm
Excitement can overcome some initial hurdles
Partnerships
Other community organizations, school boards

18. Success stories RESP sign-up day at Garden River Upcoming mail-out
Result of partnership building in the community
Upcoming sign-up day Nov 30th Sault Ste. Marie Public Library
Upcoming mail-out
Personal stories
Accompanying to bank
Build trust, bring the enthusiasm!
88 RESP sign-ups since the beginning of the project!

19. Family Services of Greater Vancouver
RESP education and client support program

20. INTRODUCTION FSGV—Financial Empowerment Program
Rocio Vasquez—Client Service Coordinator & RESP support worker
Stats about student debt and wages
Program to help families uptake RESP and grant money.
Background on why we are doing the job

21. HOW WE SUPPORT CLIENT WITH RESPs
They work with a support worker they trust
Raise awareness of Canada Education Savings Programs through our Workshops
Clients learn about RESPs and what affordable options there are for families
Teach them to use Smart Saver Link to access 0 fees and $0 contribution accounts
Prepare clients one on one for their appointment with the financial institution of their choice

22. HOW WE DO IT!
Since February 2017, 2953 individuals received RESP and education government incentive information either at a Money Skills and RESP workshop or outreach efforts.
Group education
Community partnership
Outreach strategy (meets clients’ face-to face)
Partnership with municipal initiative
Training of Frontline workers
 Clients don’t have to put in any money to get grants
The banks will apply for the grants
You must have an RESP to collect grants
CLB, CESG, ACESG and BCTESG these are the grants that are available to families

23. Structure of 1-1 appointments
A- One-on-one initial appointment
1-2 hours we assess and educate
let client raise questions, doubts and concerns assess what they are missing sign-up via Smart Saver Create an action plan for bank visit
B- Follow-up visit
Accompaniment to Service Canada for SINs, filing taxes and bank accompaniment.
*** Bank accompaniment has proven 100% results for RESP uptakes.

24. CHALLENGES Families with low financial literacy
Living day to day stresses impedes planning for the future
Multiple barriers (language, crisis, and mental health)
Bank advisors and Group plans
ID barriers- rely on non-profit services or little money
Confusing information online, from banks and group plans
Complex information on Government websites
Custody – Ex grandparent with temporary custody
Time- this is process is time consuming
Lack of trust or lack of relationship with financial institution
Lack of understanding about meeting deadlines
Discouragement of cost of education
Resources
Emphasis year of birth not age

25. LESSONS Client centered service
Don’t assume client is ready, some families need more time
Simple message about RESP and education savings
Work in partnership
Meet clients face-to-face

26. Questions & Answers

27. Questions answered offline by our panelists, after the webinar
What do you include in your action plan for bank visits?
Rocio:
Clients will inform this action plan, but usual a list of documents and ID they need to bring, list of question that they have about the RESP account or other RESP options.
Date, time and Bank they will open the RESP.
With Families with 3 plus kids we make a list of name, sin numbers and birthdate to help the advisor with the paper work.
Also in the Action plan for a bank visit the client will already know how much they will contribute  ( include the amount of contribution and how they want to contribute ( Monthly, yearly or bi-yearly), in some cases its 0$

28. Questions answered offline by our panelists, after the webinar
Do you think there is confusion about “free tuition” from the government and the need for RESPs?
Allyson:
What I tell people is it’s all free money that will have time to grow, even if they aren’t able to put in any of their own money. This money can go towards books, living expenses and the like. I equate it to getting paid $2000+ for 2-3 hours of work. There are any number of expenses associated with education after high school, so instead of scrambling, this money gives some breathing room. It also reduces the need to go into more debt for schooling.
Rocio:
No- I have not heard this from clients they are more confused about CBL and other grants requiring a contribution to receive it.

29. Questions answered offline by our panelists, after the webinar
If you don’t have a dedicated person working on RESPs, what would be a good place to start?
Rocio:
Can you collaborate with other partners to do a sign-up event?
Allyson:
My suggestion is to build RESPs into all client-based activities. Where are there opportunities for staff to introduce RESPs, support clients to have what they need to open a plan, maybe even hold an event? Bringing up the conversation and dispelling myths, is important. During an intake, for example, asking if a family has an RESP can become protocol. Posters, brochures, a few slides during a presentation, these all go a long way into developing RESP signups. RESP signup activities are about 30% of my workload, it is not my sole focus and I have been able to weave it into all of my activities with clients. Not everyone is ready to sign up immediately, but the messaging and awareness piece goes a very long way. During the webinar, I spoke about the ‘elevator pitch’. If as an organization a script can be developed, this will help staff be more comfortable so they can build that approach and the enthusiasm to have families buy in.

30. Financial Empowerment Champions (FECs)
3,000+ RESPS opened
National Financial Empowerment Champions project
5 champions working to improve the financial literacy and health of 175,000+ Canadians on low/modest incomes
Ontario Financial Empowerment Champions project
5 champions working to improve the financial literacy and health of 50,000+ Ontarians on low/modest incomes
Sault St. Marie Credit Counselling and Family Services of Greater Vancouver are both part of our Financial Empowerment Champions projects.
The NFEC project supports leading community and non-profit organization and their partners in 5 communities across Canada to deliver a suite of financial empowerment supports to improve the financial literacy and health of 175,000+ Canadians on low/modest income
The OFEC project Supports leading community and non-profit organizations and their partners in 5 Ontario communities to deliver a suite of financial empowerment to improve the financial literacy and health of 50,000+ Ontarians on low/modest incomes.
The joint efforts of all FECs and their partners have resulted in just over 3,000 RESPs opened Since 2016.

31. Resources Handouts in this webinar:
RESP tracking spreadsheet (Sault Ste. Marie)
RESP Case Plan document (Sault Ste. Marie)
RESP sample letter (Sault Ste. Marie)
RESP 2018 Quick Reference Sheet (FSGV)
SmartSAVER. (RESP and CLB support)
Canada.ca. ‘Apply for the Canada Learning Bond (CLB)’

32. Reports and research
Momentum. Improving Education Outcomes through Children’s Education Savings. May
The Omega Foundation. Family Savings for Post-Secondary Education. November
Marc Frenette. Investments in Registered Education Savings Plans and Post-Secondary Attendance. Statistics Canada Economic Insights. April
SEED Winnipeg, Jerry Buckland, Gail Henderson, Momentum, Legal Help Centre of Winipeg. Group RESP Research and Education Project. June

33. Thank you for joining us!
We will be sending you an soon with:
Slides from today’s webinar
Link to webinar recording
Link to post webinar survey
We will also post the recorded webinar on our Learning Hub at:
Join us next time!
“Saving on a low income: Programs and strategies that work”
Thursday, December 6th, 2018, 1pm ET
Dean Estrella, Momentum (AB)
John Cockburn, Credit Counselling Sudbury (ON)

34. Credit Counselling of Sault Ste. Marie and District
Contact us
Prosper Canada
60 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 700
Toronto, ON M4T 1N5
(416)
Allyson Schmidt
Credit Counselling of Sault Ste. Marie and District
allyson
@creditcounsellingssm.ca
Rocio Vasquez
Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV)
Glenna Harris
Prosper Canada
gharris
@prospercanada.org
Co-founder and supporter
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