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Resources to Promote Self-Sufficiency
RBC provides services and supports programs that help disadvantaged
people build assets, acquire skills and find jobs.
Improving job prospects
For people who are unemployed or underemployed, it takes
skills, opportunities and contacts to land the right job.
RBC supports organizations that help overcome these challenges
such as:
- Neil Squire Society's Employ Ability Program, which assists
physically disabled adults in Canada seeking employable
skills, education and confidence
- Regina Adult Learning Centre, dedicated to working with
young at-risk adults to give them the necessary skills and
experience to successfully enter the workplace or a post-secondary
educational facility
- Seattle-based FareStart, which gives low-income residents
a unique opportunity to train and be placed in long-term
employment in the food industry
- Opportunity International, dedicated to facilitating
micro-loans for Third World small business enterprises
- The Foundation for International Training, which provides
consulting services through the Economic and Social Council
of the United Nations to increase the managerial and technical
capacities of Third World countries.
The ABCs of money
Education about money, and how it works, is key to financial
stability. In 2007, RBC supported a host of basic and financial
literacy initiatives around the world:
Canada
- The Lifeskills Education Program helps more than 17,000
Canadian teachers educate students in grades 4 to 12 about
financial literacy, planning and management. From June 2006
to July 2007, 4,740 free kits were distributed.
- The RBC Royal Bank Financial Lifeskills Scholarship is
awarded to 10 students annually.
- There's Something About Money, a seminar developed
by the Canadian Bankers Association, is delivered in classrooms
across Canada by RBC employees. In 2006-2007, 86 RBC employees
volunteered 1,092 hours to help 4,971 high school students
understand topics such as how to handle credit or
start a business.
- Momentum Community Economic Development Society's Money
Management program delivers workshops to Calgarians living
in low-income situations with a goal of supporting individuals
to take control of their personal finances and develop money
management knowledge and skills.
United States
- How to Do Your Banking, a financial education series
for high school students, was developed by RBC Centura in
partnership with area high schools.
- Savvy Cents, a financial literacy education program,
helps participants of all ages and financial knowledge levels
to set financial goals, budget and build wealth. RBC Centura
employees presented Savvy Cents to more than 2,000 individuals
in communities throughout our five-state area in 2007.
Caribbean
- We supported a public education initiative that consists
of infomercials on various financial subjects including
applying for a small business loan, choosing the right mortgage,
creating a personal budget and building credit history.
Prosperity through literacy
Countless studies have shown the importance of basic functional
literacy to economic well-being. That's why RBC supports organizations
like Room to Read, which partners in local communities throughout
the developing world to establish schools, libraries and other
educational infrastructure with the aim of intervening early
in the lives of children and breaking the cycle of poverty
- one child at a time. Through PLAN, founded in 1937 as Foster
Parents Plan, we support a mobile library in northern Brazil
that helps 500 rural children each year.
Wealth through homes of their own
When renters become homeowners, they build equity, the tax
base grows and communities prosper.
- RBC offers a number of mortgage products that help first-time
buyers in Canada achieve their dream of home ownership.
For instance, for clients who require a lower monthly payment,
RBC offers mortgages with a maximum amortization of up to
40 years. No-down-payment mortgage options help renters
get into homes sooner during times of increasing house prices.
RBC has a customized mortgage designed for clients who do
not meet our traditional underwriting criteria as a result
of unexpected events such as job loss or illness, and helps
them qualify for a mortgage while they get their lives back
on track.
- RBC Centura partners with local economic development
agencies, community leaders, real estate experts, credit
counselors and others, in its markets throughout the U.S.
Southeast to source programs and enhancements that could
help promote home ownership for low-income borrowers.
- In 2006*, we provided a total of 2,064 mortgage loans
to low- and moderate-income families in the United States,
totaling approximately US$227 million.
- In 2007, we entered into a special partnership in the
United States with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
(Freddie Mac) to deliver financial, home ownership, credit
education and other resources to aid in home ownership.
- RBC Centura participated with Federal Home Loan Bank
of Atlanta to provide down payment assistance grants totaling
US$400,000, benefiting over 50 low- and moderate-income
first-time homebuyers.
- Once again, in 2007, RBC supported Habitat for Humanity
across North America, with employee participation in community
builds, and a donation of $275,000 in Canada. These funds,
along with employee volunteers, assisted in building homes
at 25 sites.
* 2007 numbers not available at time of
publication
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