Resources
Supported tax filing (STF) model general documents
This section contains resources that describe the supported tax file model and includes sample scripts and documents relevant to both virtual and in-person supported tax filing. These documents may be customized for your own agency.
Resources specific to in-person supported tax filing
This section contains documents that have been tailored for in-person supported tax filing.
Resources specific to virtual supported tax filing
This section contains documents that have been tailored for virtual supported tax filing.
Additional resources
This section contains additional resources to support at tax time. Be sure to also review our Tax filing toolkit and Financial Coaching toolkit for other relevant resources.
Sample client profiles (WoodGreen)
Common tax deductions
Common sources of income and their tax slips
Notice of Assessment – how to read it
Encouraging tax filing at virtual clinics
Resources
Handouts, videos and time stamps
Video and time stamps
1:59 – Welcome and introduction
7:55 – Warm up poll
10:06 – Access to benefits project overview and barriers to access
19:46 – Live demo of the Disability Benefits Compass tool
24:20 – Evaluation: what is it and project outcomes and learnings
40:48 – What’s next? What is possible? Call to action!
52:18 – Activity: Poll
54:26 – Questions and Wrap-up
Resources
Handouts, video and time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video:
Welcome and introductions
2:52 – Goals for webinar
4:39 – Context: Benefits Wayfinder and Disability Benefits Navigator
10:46 – Intro to the Bridge to Benefits tool
19:31 – Development process
24:10 – Demo – Walkthrough of the features
40:17 – Evaluation
44:12 – How to share this tool with others/Other resources
49:12 – Questions and feedback
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Jenni Bolton
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Jenni Bolton2023-08-31 13:07:002023-11-21 11:21:19Ability to manage: Supportive tools to help community members manage their expenses, saving and debt
Resources and Tools
Managing the cost of goods and paying bills
Budgeting resources
Five different budgeting methods – Prosper Canada
Cash flow budget template – PDF – Prosper Canada
Cash flow budget template – fillable PDF – Prosper Canada
Simple budget template – PDF – Prosper Canada
Simple budget template – fillable PDF – Prosper Canada
Ten ways to trim expenses – Prosper Canada
Ways to save at the grocery store – Prosper Canada
5 budgeting app ideas – Prosper Canada
Tracking spending/bills
Expenses tracking sheet – PDF – Prosper Canada
Expenses tracking sheet – fillable PDF – Prosper Canada
Tracking fluctuating expenses – Prosper Canada
Prioritizing Bills tool – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Spending tracker tool – CFPB
Cutting expenses tool – CFPB
Online budgeting tools
Budget Planner (free) – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Budget Calculator Spreadsheet (downloadable Excel sheet) – MyMoneyCoach.ca
Spending Habits Calculator – GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca
Personal Budgeting Course (no cost) – Momentum
Debt
Action planning
Steps to debt repayment – Prosper Canada
Determining debt payoff order – Prosper Canada
Dealing with debt– Prosper Canada
Making a plan to be debt free– Government of Canada
The 4 cornerstones of debt reduction strategies & budgeting– Credit Counselling Society
Getting out of debt– Credit Counselling Society
Information for consumers on the insolvency process– Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (available in multiple languages)
More resources
Options you can trust to help with your debt – Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
1:1 debt counselling – Credit Counselling Canada
Sample letters to creditors – Credit Counselling Society
Ways to build or rebuild credit and manage debt course (no cost) – Momentum
Housing and homelessness
Listing of agencies across Canada that may be able to help – The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
211 – United Way Canada
Subsidized housing in ON – Ontario Non-profit Housing Association
Benefits for housing
Housing benefits – Government of Canada
Benefits wayfinder – Prosper Canada
Factsheet: Housing insecure individuals – Government of Canada
Resources for renters
Your rights when being evicted for renovations – Community Legal Education Ontario
Resources for renters facing eviction – Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation
Know your rights: eviction prevention – Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
Know your rights: rental housing basics – Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
Know your rights: record keeping for tenants – Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
Rent-Geared-to-Income Subsidy – City of Toronto
Resources for specific groups
Housing options for seniors – Government of Canada
Toolkit for medical professionals in ON writing disability accommodation letters – Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
Friendship Centres for Indigenous people – National Association of Friendship Centres
Support services for victims of abuse – New Brunswick Government
Shelters
Housing and shelters – Salvation Army (Canada)
Disaster relief help – Canadian Red Cross (Canada)
Emergency and short-term housing in Ontario – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (Ontario)
For women facing domestic abuse – Shelter Safe (Canada)
Survivors of domestic violence – CAMH (Toronto)
Shelters – CAMH (Toronto)
Food insecurity
Access to food
Find a food bank – Food Banks Canada
Meals on wheels – Ontario Community Support Association
211 – United Way Canada
Drop-in meal resource list for Toronto – Toronto Drop-in Network
Food exchange – Quest Vancouver
Good food organizations – Community Food Centres Canada
Akwe:go – Wasa-Nabin Student Nutrition Program – Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Friendship Centres for Indigenous people – Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Understanding food insecurity
Tool for older adults: rate your eating habits! – Older Adult Nutrition Screening
Poverty Screening (Food Insecurity) – Canadian Nutrition Society
Resources
Reports, presentation slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the executive summary.
Time stamps for the video:
0.38 – Welcome and housekeeping
5:59 – Canada’s financial help gap overview
35:35 – Panel discussion
1:20 – Q&A
Resources
Presentation slides and video time stamps
View the Making the most of your money course.
View the Investing with interest booklet.
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video:
0:50 – Welcome, introductions, and warm-up
3:10 – Making the most of your money overview
12:57 – Demo
25:26 – Investing with interest overview
40:00 – Other resources
44:04 – Q&A
Resources
Handouts, slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the promotional postcard.
Download the promotional poster.
Time-stamps for the video recording:
1:26 – Welcome and introductions
3:30 – Our goals for today’s session
5:04 – Why these tools were created
7:12 – The Benefits Wayfinder and the Disability Benefits Compass
46:11 – Ways to use the Benefits Wayfinder – tax clinics
49:37 – Access to Benefits training available
Missing for those who need it most: Canada’s financial help gap
A new study by national charity Prosper Canada, undertaken with funding support from Co-operators, finds that Canadians with low incomes are increasingly financially vulnerable but lack access to the financial help they need to rebuild their financial health. The report, shows that affordable, appropriate and trustworthy financial help for people with low incomes is a critical but missing piece in Canada's financial services landscape. People with low incomes are unlikely to find help when they need it to plan financially, develop and adhere to a budget, set and pursue saving goals, file their taxes outside of tax season, and access income benefits. Executive summary: Canada's financial help gap L’aide qui manque pour ceux qui en ont le plus besoin Sommaire Exécutif: L’écart en matière d’aide financière au Canada
English
Soaring with savings - Tips and tools to help you save
SWS Worksheet #1 – The importance of saving (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #2 – Create a savings goal (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #3 – Savings support network (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #4 – Saving for emergencies (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #5 – Saving for unstable income (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #6 – Saving for education (Fillable PDF)
SWS Worksheet #7 – Saving for retirement (Fillable PDF)
Soaring with Savings- Full booklet
Soaring with savings - Training tools
French
Encourager l’épargne - Conseils et outils pour vous aider à épargner
Encourager l’épargne - l’aide d’animation
Ressources
CELI calculatrice, La Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
REER, La Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Investir et épargner pendant une récession, La Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
English
Dealing with debt: Tips and tools to help you manage your debt
Dealing with debt – About this resource
DWD Worksheet #1 – Your money priorities – Fillable PDF
DWD Worksheet #2: What do I owe? – Fillable PDF
DWD Worksheet #3: Making a debt action plan – Fillable PDF
DWD Worksheet #4: Tracking fluctuating expenses – Fillable PDF
DWD Worksheet #5: Making a spending plan – Fillable PDF including calculations
DWD Worksheet #6: Your credit report and credit score – Fillable PDF
DWD Worksheet #7: Know your rights and options
Dealing with debt – Full booklet
Dealing with debt: Training tools
Resources
Managing debt , Ontario Securities Commission
Options you can trust to help you with your debt, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada
Debt advisory marketplace/ consumer awareness, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada
French
Gestion de la dette: Conseils et outils pour vous aider à gérer votre dette
01 – Vos priorités financières
02 – Combien ai-je de dettes?
03 – Faire un plan d’action
04 – Suivi des dépenses variables
05 – Faire un plan de dépense
06 – Dossier de crédit et cote de solvabilité
07 – Connaître nos droits et nos options
Ressources : Pour en savoir plus
Gestion de la dette : Livret complet
Ressources
Gestion de la dette, La Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Des options fiables pour vous aider avec vos dettes, Bureau du surintendant des faillites
Marché des services-conseils en redressement financier et sensibilisation des consommateurs, Bureau du surintendant des faillites
English
Investing with interest: tips and tools for maximizing your savings
IWI – Worksheet #1: What do you want to save for?
IWI – Worksheet #2: Tracking your income and expenses
IWI- Worksheet #3: Are you ready to invest?
IWI- Worksheet #4: What can you invest in?
IWI-Worksheet #5: Where can you get advice?
IWI-Worksheet #6: Watch out for investment frauds and scams
IWI-Worksheet #7: Tips for success
Resources
Crypto Quiz, OSC
Grandparent scams and how to avoid them, OSC
Compound interest calculator, OSC
Emergency fund calculator, OSC
Tips to keep your credit card safe, OSC
Investment products, OSC
Types of fraud, OSC
Multilingual financial resources for Ontarians, OSC
Pay down debt or invest tool, OSC
Reporting fraud, OSC
Introduction to investing, OSC
Scam spotter tool, OSC
Your trusted person and why they matter, OSC
Getting Your Money Back; An Investor’s Guide to Navigating Canada’s Complaint System, FAIR Canada
Study explores Canadian attitudes about Crypto, OSC
How the stock market works, OSC
The basics of personal finance, Credit Canada
French
L’intérêt d’investir: Conseils et outils pour maximiser votre épargne
Ressources
Questionnaire sur les cryptoactifs, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Les arnaques des grands-parents et comment les éviter, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Calculatrice épargne REER, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Calculatrice intérêts composés, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Calculatrice fonds d’urgence, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Astuces pour garder votre carte de crédit en toute sécurité, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Produits d’investissement, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Types de fraude, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Ressources financières multilingues pour les Ontariennes et les Ontariens, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Calculatrice rembourser des dettes ou investir, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Signaler une escroquerie, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Planification de la retraite, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Questionnaire préparation des investisseurs, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Introduction au placement, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Outil détecteur d’escroquerie, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Votre personne de confiance et les raisons qui expliquent son importance, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Une étude explore les attitudes des Canadiens à l’égard de la cryptomonnaie, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Le fonctionnement de la bourse, Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario
Resources
Presentation slides and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Time stamps for the video recording:
-
- 5:20 – Start
- 6:12 – Land acknowledgement
- 7:24 – Introduction of speakers
- 9:42 – Today’s presentation
- 10:45 – Barriers to access to benefits
- 15:12 – Designing for benefit accessibility
- 21:53 – ESDC pilot project
- 32:46 –Demo of the disability benefit compass
- 44:36 – Importance of evaluation
- 50:58 – What’s next? What’s possible?
- 58:55 – Questions
Resources
Presentation slides, handouts, and video time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the Overview of Financial vulnerability of Low-Income Canadians: A Rising Tide
Time-stamps for the video recording:
00:00 – Start
6:05 – Agenda and Introductions
8:24 – Overview of Financial vulnerability, of low-income Canadians: A rising tide (Speaker: Eloise Duncan)
25:40 – Panel discussion: how increasing financial vulnerability is playing out in community and how policy makers should respond.
45:35 – Q&A
Resources
Presentation slides, handouts, and video time stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download resources provided by webinar speakers:
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:24 – Agenda and Introductions
6:36 – Audience poll questions
9:33 – FAIR Canada presentation (speaker: Tasmin Waley)
24:07 – Ontario Securities Commission presentation (speaker: Christine Allum)
39:10 – Investor Protection Clinic at Osgoode Hall Law School (speaker: Brigitte Catellier)
51:34 – Q&A
Resources
Presentation slides, handouts, and video time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the handout for this webinar: Flyer for ‘Redefining Financial Vulnerability in Canada: The Embedded Experience of Households’.
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:31 – Agenda and Introductions
7:15 – Redefining financial vulnerability in Canada (speaker: Jerry Buckland and Brenda Spotton Visano)
24:33 – Audience poll question 1
27:07– Audience poll questions 2 & 3
33:57 – Audience poll question 4
38:00 – Financial Empowerment (Speaker: Margaret Yu)
52:15– Q&A
Resources
Financial education
*Resource is not specific to Indigenous communities
Money Management:
Dollars and Sense Program– AFOA Canada
Financial workshops for youth
Managing your money – Prosper Canada
Worksheets to set and work towards money goals
Financial literacy for Indigenous Peoples – RBC
A two-hour course on financial basics
Financial health & wealth – Native Women’s Association of Canada
Financial literacy information and worksheets
Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples – ABC Literacy
Money Matters workbooks
Money moccasins – Momentum
Workshops for Indigenous peoples on assets, budgets, banking, credit and consumerism.
Money stories– SEED Winnipeg
Customized money management training program for Indigenous youth
Empower U– Esquao Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women
Financial literacy program
The Game Plan – Indigenous Story Studio
Comic book on financial literacy (paid resource)
Financial Education Online*– Credit Counselling Society
Short online courses
Dollars and Sense* – Texas A&M (USA)
Online simulation for Middle and High School Students
Simple budget template* – Prosper Canada
Student budget worksheet* – FCAC
Gift planning worksheet*- Sudbury Community Service Centre
Budget planner* – Government of Canada
Building Native communities – First Nations Development Institute
Debt/Credit:
Credit– AFOA Canada
A Money Smarts podcast on how to build and keep credit in good shape
Proper use of credit* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Tips on how to build good strong credit
Collection Agencies and You*- Sudbury Community Service Centre
Tips on your rights if contacted by a collection agency
Credit report request form* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Equifax and TransUnion request forms
Credit report sample*– FCAC
Dangers of credit* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
The dangers of the different forms of credit available
Payday loans and you* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Understanding how pay day loans work
Debt consolidation calculator * – Ontario Securities Commission
Combine multiple debts into one and calculate how soon you could be debt free
The 4 cornerstones of debt reduction strategies & budgeting* – Credit Counselling Society
Retirement:
Low-income retirement planning* Open Policy
A background paper on maximizing GIS
Taxes and benefits
*Resource is not specific to Indigenous communities
**Tax and benefits information changes on a regular basis, we encourage you to check the CRA website for up to date information.
Tax filing:
Roundtable on Income Tax Filing Supports in First Nation communities and Indigenous organizations (presentation) – Prosper Canada & AFOA Canada
Insights on planning free tax clinics in Indigenous communities – Prosper Canada
Podcast: Host a Free Tax Clinic – AFOA Canada
How to host a tax clinic (manual) – AFOA Canada
Tax packages*– CRA
Indigenous income tax issues– CRA
COVID-19 benefits, your return and repayments– CRA
Get free tax help– CRA
Understanding Indigenous Experience with Tax Filing (2022)– CRA
Benefits:
Benefits wayfinder*– Prosper Canada
Canada Learning Bond* – MySmartFUTURE, AFOA Canada
Canada Learning Bond*– Government of Canada
Podcast: Tax filing and accessing financial benefits – AFOA Canada
Webinar for Indigenous peoples: Get your benefits and credits – CRA
Canada Dental Benefit – CRA
One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit– CRA
Working from home: Income tax exemption – CRA
Simplified northern residents travel deduction– CRA
Benefits and credits: Information for Indigenous peoples– CRA
Taxes and benefits:
Taxes and benefits for Indigenous peoples – CRA
Let us help you get your benefits! – CRA
Factsheet: Indigenous peoples – CRA (available in 16 languages)
Relevant reading & viewing
*Resource is not specific to Indigenous communities
Money Smarts -AFOA Canada
podcast series
The shared path- First Nations Financial Wellness– Prosper Canada & AFOA Canada
Financial empowerment: Personal finance for Indigenous and non-Indigenous People – Bettina Schneider
Adaptation of openly licensed textbook Person Finance v 1.0 by Saylor Academy
Financial health & wealth: an initiative by the Native Women’s Association of Canada
Report on financial health and wealth from the Native Women’s Association of Canada
Access to ID:
Access to Identification for Low-Income Manitobans* – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, MB
Research on what can be done to address challenges around ID
Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John* – NB Social Pediatrics and the Saint John Community Loan Fund
Identifies access to identification, as well as stringent identification requirements as the most prevalent barriers to receiving services
2022 Budget submission
Prosper Canada has submitted a budget to highlight that a plan is needed to ensure that vulnerable people are not made to repay unmanageable CERB/CRB debts, to pay back the income people lost when their refundable tax benefits were clawed back because of CERB, and to guarantee that CRB and CWLB are not clawed back from refundable tax credit payments in the 2021 and 2022 tax years.
English
For frontline staff - Quick tools you can use with clients
Starting the conversation
Here are 7 questions to help you start a conversation about money with your client. Based on what you learn about your clients’ needs, the remaining links on this page to help you find answers and next steps.
Try this coaching readiness checklist to help your client ascertain if they have the time and are interested in receiving financial coaching.
Worksheets & tip sheets
Here are some “go to” worksheets and tip sheets that frontline staff have found very helpful with their clients. They focus on budgeting, saving, and debt management – common FE needs that come up. Try them out for yourself first and see which ones might work for your clients.
The Budget Spreadsheet is an excellent tool for capturing the full picture of an individual’s financial picture. The individual inputs information according to different categories and the tool calculates totals in a summary page to show how much money is left over at the end of the month. [Thunder Bay Counselling]
The Simple budget template is an alternative monthly budget tool clients can use. It includes links to an Income tracking worksheet and Expenses tracking worksheet. [Prosper Canada / Trove]
The Urgent vs Important worksheet can help clients prioritize their spending. This, in turn, can help them save or “find money” for necessary expenses. [Prosper Canada / Trove]
Knowing how to set a SMART goal is important for planning and achieving targets. In the Set a SMART financial goal, clients learn what a SMART goal is and write SMART financial goals that are important to them. [Prosper Canada / Trove]
Making a spending plan is a worksheet clients can use to create a spending plan for each week based on money coming in and out each month. [Prosper Canada / Trove]
Making a debt action plan is a worksheet to help your clients get a handle on their debt. [Prosper Canada / Trove]
Tips for Managing Debt and Bills is a reference sheet you can give clients during tough times when managing cash flow is a challenge.
Prioritizing bills helps clients prioritize what bills to pay when it’s not possible to pay for everything. Note that this tool is from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an American government agency and includes a link to their website. Let clients know the information on the website is geared to the US context. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]
Online sites and tools
Here are great online tools you can also share and use in your FE work with clients.
Benefits wayfinder [benefitswayfinder.org]
Support with access to benefits is another powerful FE intervention. The Benefits wayfinder is a simple, easy to use, plain language tool that helps people on low and modest incomes find and track benefits they could get. Clients can use it on their own or with your support.
Read the Benefits wayfinder fact sheet to learn more.
Then watch the How to use this tool video. It highlights and demonstrates how to navigate through the key features of the tool.
If you would like additional training on how to support your clients with access to benefits and use the Benefits wayfinder tool in your money conversations, you can sign up for Prosper Canada’s self-directed online course and/or live workshop.
Trove [yourtrove.org]
Trove is a free bilingual website that clients can visit on their own or with your support. Many of the tools you were introduced to above can be found on Trove, along with a wealth of other user-friendly financial tools, worksheets, and education information to help clients take charge of their spending, learn about tax filing and benefits, and manage debt.
Along with a link to the Benefits wayfinder, you can also find these online tools:
- My money in Canada is a website that can help clients build healthy money habits with simple, easy to use learning modules on a range of money topics. The site also includes videos and a financial wellness checklist for clients.
- The RDSP Calculator for Canadians can be used to assess the potential of opening and contributing to a Registered Disability Savings Plan.
For managers - Tools for getting started with financial empowerment
The resources below focus on starting steps and tools to assist in the initial planning and implementation stages for embedding FE. Future phases of the toolkit will share resources for later stage efforts, as well as non-municipal efforts, such as public libraries and health care systems.
Tool 1. Making the case for financial empowerment
For FE to be successful, it’s critical to get buy-in from staff and stakeholders.
Below are great resources to share with key players who are new to FE. They can help you get others quickly up to speed on what FE is and the value of embedding FE as you onboard them or work to build interest in FE in your municipality.
- Prosperity Gateways Primer gives a quick overview of the “what” and “why” of embedding FE into municipal services.
- FE Brochure provides a more detailed introduction to FE and embedding FE.
- Here are three case examples you can use to show the powerful impact embedding FE into municipal services can have:
- Case example: York region
- Case example: TESS
- Case example: Edmonton
Tool 2. Getting started: the internal scan
Take the time to learn about common FE interventions. Then, assess conditions, capacity and considerations in your municipality for providing these kinds of financial help to your clients.
This tool guides you through an internal scan as you envision what embedding FE might look like in your service delivery context. Consider Tool 2: Getting started: the internal scan a starting point that will continue to evolve as you move through the process.
Tool 3. Exploring partnerships: the external scan
Municipalities do not have to deliver FE supports themselves to turn their services into Prosperity Gateways. In many cases, especially at the outset, it may be more cost-effective and less resource intensive to establish referral pathways to other local service providers or to partner with non-profit organizations, foundations, or financial service providers to deliver the financial help to meet your clients’ needs.
Use Tool 3: Exploring collaborations and partnerships to perform a scan of FE services in your local community and identify potential collaborations and partnerships.
Two additional partnership resources are ‘Elements of Integration‘ and ‘Partnership Tip Sheet‘
Tool 4. Designing the initiative: the service blueprint
Having completed an internal and external scan of barriers and opportunities, you are now ready to design an FE initiative to suit your municipality’s context. Designing the initiative is an important phase where you work out the service model, clarify partnerships, and imagine the ideal client experience.
Tool 4: Designing the initiative guides you through choosing the best service delivery model for your context and designing the client and staff journey.
We hope this toolkit will grow and improve with use and feedback. Current ideas for upcoming tools include:
- Understanding your clients’ financial capability
- Building a successful team
- Supporting staff for success
- Setting up effective data collection and evaluation processes
Tool 5. Designing the initiative: a shadowing guide
Tool 5: A shadowing guide can help frontline staff understand the process from intake to service delivery.
Feedback / Suggestions
We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions for tools that you would find useful. Please email: Helen Payne Watt at [email protected]
Learn more about FE
Canadian Publications
Prosperity Gateways: Cities for financial empowerment – Building the case outlines evidence for embedding FE.
Read the report How financial empowerment services are helping Ontarians build financial health for more supporting evidence and personal stories.
Financial Empowerment – What is it and how it helps reduce poverty [national] suggests that FE is a critical missing piece of federal government policy that can significantly boost client outcomes when it is embedded into other programs and services.
Financial Empowerment – What is it and how it helps reduce poverty [Alberta] provides an overview of provincial government action on FE in Alberta. The Alberta government adapted the national document (by the same name) to use in their internal discussions with municipal decision-makers. Create a document that you can use for your internal discussions using this as an example.
U.S. Publications
The municipal integration of FE in Canada is grounded in influential work in the US by the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund. Launched in 2012 in New York the CFE Fund showed that embedding FE strategies into local government infrastructure can have a “supervitamin effect” on public programs, increasing the financial stability of low to moderate income households.
- Read the pioneering article: “Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs”
- Learn more about their Financial Empowerment Centers model in this 4-minute video
- Visit their website to see resources and sign up for their quarterly newsletter
- See a three-year evaluation of the model in 5 cities across the US. “An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers – Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service”
The Urban Institute examined the cost of residents’ financial insecurity to city budgets in 10 American cities in this 2017 research. Across these cities, the costs range from the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, suggesting that cities have an economic interest in improving their residents’ financial health.
A report by JP Morgan Chase reviews municipal efforts to integrate financial capability into public services in several US locations in “A Scan of Municipal Financial Capability Efforts.”
French
Pour le personnel de première ligne — Outils rapides que vous pouvez utiliser avec les clients
Amorcer la conversation
Voici sept questions qui vous aideront à entamer une conversation à propos de l’argent avec votre client. En fonction de ce que vous avez appris sur les besoins de vos clients, les autres liens de cette page vous aideront à trouver des réponses et à connaître les prochaines étapes.
Utilisez cette liste de vérification pour aider votre client à décider s’il a le temps et s’il souhaite recevoir un accompagnement financier.
Fiches de travail et fiches de conseils
Voici quelques feuilles de travail et des feuilles de conseils que le personnel de première ligne a trouvé très utiles pour ses clients. Elles portent principalement sur la planification budgétaire, l’épargne et la gestion des dettes — les besoins courants en matière d’AF qui se présentent. Essayez-les d’abord pour vous-même et voyez ceux qui pourraient convenir à vos clients.
La feuille de calcul du budget (anglais seulement) est un excellent outil pour saisir le portrait complet de la situation financière d’un individu. La personne saisit les données selon différentes catégories et l’outil calcule les totaux dans une page de synthèse pour montrer combien d’argent il reste à la fin du mois. [Thunder Bay Counselling]
Le modèle de budget simple est un outil alternatif de budget mensuel que les clients peuvent utiliser. Il comprend des liens vers une feuille de calcul de suivi des revenus et une feuille de calcul de suivi des dépenses. [Prospérité Canada/Trove]
La feuille de calcul Urgent versus Important peut aider les clients à établir des priorités dans leurs dépenses. Cela peut ensuite les aider à économiser ou à « trouver de l’argent » pour les dépenses nécessaires. [Prospérité Canada/Trove]
Il est important de savoir comment établir un objectif INTELLIGENT pour mettre en place et atteindre des objectifs. Avec l’outil Comment établir des objectifs financiers INTELLIGENTS, les clients apprennent ce qu’est un objectif INTELLIGENT et choisissent des objectifs financiers INTELLIGENTS qui sont importants pour eux. [Prospérité Canada/Trove]
La feuille de calcul Comment établir un plan de dépenses est un outil que les clients peuvent utiliser pour créer un plan de dépenses pour chaque semaine en fonction des entrées et sorties d’argent du mois. [Prospérité Canada/Trove]
La feuille de calcul Élaboration d’un plan d’action en matière de dettes est un outil pour aider vos clients à prendre le contrôle sur leurs dettes. [Prospérité Canada/Trove]
Conseils pour la gestion des dettes et des factures est une feuille de référence que vous pouvez donner à vos clients dans les moments difficiles où la gestion des fonds est un défi.
Le classement des factures par ordre de priorité (anglais seulement) aide les clients à déterminer les factures à payer en premier lorsqu’il n’est pas possible de tout payer. Notez que cet outil provient du Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), une agence gouvernementale américaine, et comprend un lien vers son site Web. Expliquez aux clients que les renseignements figurant sur le site Web sont adaptés au contexte américain. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]
Sites et outils en ligne
Voici d’excellents outils en ligne que vous pouvez également faire connaître et utiliser dans votre travail en matière d’AF avec les clients.
Orienteur en mesures d’aide [benefitswayfinder.org/fr]
L’aide à l’accès aux mesures d’aide est une autre façon puissante d’intervenir en matière d’AF. L’Orienteur en mesures d’aide est un outil simple, facile à utiliser et rédigé en langage clair qui aide les personnes à revenus faibles ou modestes à trouver et à répertorier les mesures d’aide auxquelles elles peuvent prétendre. Les clients peuvent l’utiliser seuls ou avec votre aide.
Pour en savoir plus, lisez la fiche d’information sur l’Orienteur en mesures d’aide. (anglais seulement)
Ensuite, regardez la vidéo Comment utiliser cet outil (anglais seulement). Elle explique et démontre comment naviguer à travers les principales caractéristiques de l’outil.
Si vous souhaitez obtenir une formation supplémentaire sur la façon d’aider vos clients à accéder aux mesures d’aide et d’utiliser l’Orienteur en mesures d’aide dans vos conversations au sujet de l’argent, vous pouvez vous inscrire au cours autodidacte en ligne ou à l’atelier en direct de Prospérité Canada.
Trove [yourtrove.org/fr]
Trove est un site Web bilingue gratuit que les clients peuvent visiter par eux-mêmes ou avec votre aide. La plupart des outils qui vous ont été présentés ci-dessus se trouvent sur Trove, ainsi qu’une multitude d’autres outils financiers conviviaux, des feuilles de calcul et des renseignements éducatifs pour aider les clients à prendre en charge leurs dépenses, à se renseigner sur la déclaration et les avantages fiscaux et à gérer leurs dettes.
En plus d’un lien vers l’Orienteur en mesures d’aide, vous trouverez également ces outils en ligne :
- Mon argent au Canada est un site Web qui peut aider les clients à acquérir de bonnes habitudes en matière de gestion de l’argent grâce à des modules d’apprentissage simples et faciles à utiliser sur toute une série de sujets liés à l’argent. Le site comprend également des vidéos (anglais seulement) et un questionnaire relatif au bien-être financier pour les clients.
- La calculatrice du REEI pour les Canadiens peut être utilisée pour évaluer la possibilité d’ouvrir et de cotiser à un régime enregistré d’épargne-invalidité.
Pour les gestionnaires — Outils pour démarrer avec l’autonomisation financière
The resources below focus on starting steps and tools to assist in the initial planning and implementation stages for embedding FE. Future phases of the toolkit will share resources for later stage efforts, as well as non-municipal efforts, such as public libraries and health care systems.
Outil 1. Argumenter en faveur de l’autonomisation financière.
Pour que l’AF soit un succès, il est essentiel d’obtenir l’adhésion du personnel et des intervenants.
Vous trouverez ci-dessous d’excellentes ressources à faire connaître aux acteurs clés qui ne connaissent pas encore l’AF. Elles peuvent vous aider à faire comprendre rapidement aux autres ce qu’est l’AF et la pertinence d’intégrer l’AF lorsque vous les accueillez ou lorsque vous travaillez à susciter l’intérêt pour l’AF dans votre municipalité.
● L’abécédaire des passerelles pour la prospérité (anglais seulement) donne un aperçu de « qu’est-ce que c’est » et du « pourquoi » au sujet de l’intégration de l’AF dans les services municipaux.
● La brochure de l’AF (anglais seulement) fournit une introduction plus détaillée à l’AF et à l’intégration de l’AF.
● Voici trois exemples de cas que vous pouvez utiliser pour montrer l’impact puissant que peut avoir l’intégration de l’AF dans les services municipaux :
o Exemple de cas : Région de York
o Exemple de cas : Services sociaux et d’emploi de Toronto
o Exemple de cas : Edmonton
Outil 2. Commencer : l’analyse interne
Prenez le temps de vous renseigner sur les types d’interventions courantes en matière d’AF. Ensuite, évaluez les conditions, la capacité et les considérations dans votre municipalité pour fournir ces types d’aide financière à vos clients.
Cet outil vous guide à travers une analyse interne qui vous permet d’envisager ce que pourrait être l’intégration de l’AF dans votre contexte de prestation de services.
Considérez l’outil 2 : Commencer : l’analyse interne un point de départ qui continuera à évoluer à mesure que vous avancerez dans le processus.
Outil 3. Explorer les partenariats : l’analyse externe
Les municipalités ne sont pas obligées de fournir elles-mêmes des mesures d’aides en matière d’AF pour transformer leurs services en passerelles pour la prospérité. Dans de nombreux cas, surtout au début, il peut être plus rentable et moins exigeant sur le plan des ressources d’établir des liens de référence vers d’autres prestataires de services locaux ou de s’associer à des organismes à but non lucratif, des fondations ou des prestataires de services financiers pour fournir l’aide financière répondant aux besoins de vos clients.
Utilisez l’outil 3 : Explorer les collaborations et les partenariats pour effectuer une analyse des services en matière d’AF dans votre communauté locale et identifier les collaborations et partenariats potentiels.
Deux autres ressources à propos du partenariat sont les « Éléments de l’intégration » et les « Conseils pour le partenariat » .
Outil 4. Concevoir l’initiative : le plan de service
Après avoir effectué une analyse interne et externe des obstacles et des opportunités, vous êtes maintenant prêt à concevoir une initiative d’AF adaptée au contexte de votre municipalité. La conception de l’initiative est une phase importante où vous élaborez le modèle de service, clarifiez les partenariats et imaginez l’expérience client idéale.
L’outil 4 : Conception de l’initiative vous guide dans le choix du meilleur modèle de prestation de services pour votre contexte et dans la conception du parcours du client et du personnel.
Nous espérons que cette boîte à outils se développera et s’améliorera avec l’utilisation et les commentaires. Les idées actuelles pour les outils à venir incluent :
- Comprendrela capacité financière de vos clients
- Mettresur pied une équipe performante
- Soutenirle personnel pour qu’il réussisse
- Mettreen place des processus efficaces de collecte de données et d’évaluation
Outil 5. Concevoir l’initiative : un guide d’observation
L’outil 5 : Un guide d’observation peut aider le personnel de première ligne à comprendre le processus, de l’accueil à la mise en œuvre du service.
Commentaires et suggestions
Nous serions ravis d’entendre vos commentaires et vos suggestions d’outils que vous trouveriez utiles. Veuillez nous envoyer un courriel : Helen Payne Watt à l’adresse [email protected].
En savoir plus en matière d’AF
Publications canadiennes
Passerelles de prospérité : Les villes pour l’autonomisation financière — établir le dossier (anglais seulement) décrit les preuves qui sont pour l’intégration de l’AF.
Lisez le rapport intitulé Comment les services d’autonomisation financière aident les Ontariens à renforcer leur santé financière (anglais seulement) pour obtenir plus de preuves et de récits personnels.
Le document Autonomisation financière — qu’est-ce que c’est et comment cela aide à réduire la pauvreté [national] (anglais seulement) suggère que l’autonomisation financière est une pièce manquante essentielle de la politique du gouvernement fédéral qui peut considérablement améliorer les conditions de vie des clients lorsqu’elle est intégrée à d’autres programmes et services.
Le document Autonomisation financière — qu’est-ce que c’est et comment cela aide à réduire la pauvreté [Alberta] (anglais seulement) donne un aperçu de la démarche du gouvernement provincial en matière d’AF en Alberta. Le gouvernement de l’Alberta a adapté le document national (du même nom) pour l’utiliser dans ses discussions internes avec les décideurs municipaux. Créez un document que vous pourrez utiliser pour vos discussions internes en utilisant cet exemple.
Publications américaines
L’intégration municipale de l’AF au Canada est fondée sur les travaux influents réalisés aux États-Unis par le Fonds Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE). Lancé en 2012 à New York, le Fonds CFE Fund a montré que l’intégration de stratégies d’AF dans l’infrastructure des gouvernements locaux peut avoir un « effet super vitaminé » sur les programmes publics, en augmentant la stabilité financière des ménages à revenu faible ou modéré.
- Lisez l’article pionnier : « Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs » (anglais seulement)
- Apprenez-en davantage sur leur modèle de centres d’autonomisation financière (anglais seulement) dans cette vidéo de quatre minutes.
- Visitez leur site Web (anglais seulement) pour voir les ressources et vous inscrire à leur infolettre trimestrielle.
- Découvrez une évaluation de trois ans du modèle dans cinq villes des États-Unis. « An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers – Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service » (anglais seulement)
L’Urban Institute a examiné le coût de l’insécurité financière des résidents sur les budgets municipaux de dix villes américaines dans cette recherche de 2017 (anglais seulement). Dans ces villes, les coûts vont de dizaines à des centaines de millions de dollars, ce qui suggère que les villes ont un intérêt économique à améliorer la santé financière de leurs résidents.
Un rapport de JP Morgan Chase passe en revue les efforts déployés par les municipalités pour intégrer la capacité financière dans les services publics dans plusieurs villes américaines dans « A Scan of Municipal Financial Capability Efforts » (anglais seulement).
Resources
Opening and Welcome
Session: Tackling pandemic hardship: The financial impact of COVID-19 on low-income households
Tackling pandemic hardship: The financial impact of COVID-19 on low-income households – YouTube
Download summary and detailed reports: The financial resilience and financial well-being of Canadians with low incomes: insights and analysis to support the financial empowerment sector
Download slide deck: The differential impact of the pandemic on low income families
Booth Chats: Big ideas for a more equitable recovery
Resolve Financial and Credit Counselling
Video Pitch: Booth chat: Jeri Bittorf, Resolve Financial and Credit Counselling Services Coordinator – YouTube
Slide Deck: K3C Credit Counselling (ablefinancialempowerment.org)
Seniors Financial Empowerment Network
Video Pitch: Booth Chat: Sarah Ramsey, City of Edmonton, Community Development Social Worker – YouTube
Seneca College
Video Pitch: Booth Chat: Varinder Gill, Seneca College, Professor & Program Co-ordinator – YouTube
Prosper Canada: Integrating Financial Empowerment into Ontario Works
Video Pitch: Booth Chat: Ana Fremont, Prosper Canada Manager, Program Delivery and Integration – YouTube
Slide Deck: Thunder Bay Financial Empowerment Integration (ablefinancialempowerment.org)
Prosper Canada: Prosperity Gateways – Cities for Financial Empowerment, Toronto Public Library
Video Pitch: Booth Chat: John Stephenson, Manager, Program Delivery and Integration – YouTube
Slide Deck: PowerPoint Presentation (ablefinancialempowerment.org)
Session: Measuring the divide: Has COVID-19 widened economic disparities for Canada’s BIPOC communities
Download slide deck: Income Support During COVID-19and ongoing challenges
Download slide deck: Re thinking income adequacy in the COVID-19 recovery
Session: Financial wellness and healing: Can building financial wellness help Indigenous communities?
Session recording: Financial wellness and healing: Can building financial wellness help Indigenous communities? – YouTube
Download slide deck: Indigenous Financial Literacy: Behaviour Insights from an Indigenous Perspective
Download slide deck: Financial wellness and Indigenous Healing
Session: When money meets race: Addressing systemic racism through financial empowerment
Session: Tous ensemble maintenant : Rétablissement de la santé financière de la population canadienne : l’affaire de tous les secteurs/ All together now: How all sectors have a role to play in rebuilding Canadians’ financial health
Session: When opportunity knocks: Poverty, disability, and Canada’s proposed new disability benefit
Session recording unavailable
Download slide deck: When Opportunity Knocks: Disability without Poverty
Session: The good, the bad and the innovation: The pandemic redesign of tax filing and benefit assistance
Closing remarks from Adam Fair, Vice President, Strategy and Impact, Prosper Canada; Helen Bobiwash
Strengthening Canada’s External Complaint Handling System
Canada’s external complaint handing structures and processes play a critical role in levelling the playing field for consumers and financial service providers, helping to offset the inevitable imbalance of power between large financial institutions and individual consumers. Prosper Canada welcomes the opportunity to provide recommendations for strengthening what is currently a weak and inadequate alternative dispute resolution system.
Resources
Project reports, journey maps, and toolkit
Reports
These slide decks describe the goals and outcomes of this project.
Socialization deck: Supporting the design of a remote financial help service (Bridgeable)
Client Journey maps
These journey maps offer a visual explanation of the process used by the 3 participating community agencies offering one-on-one client support.
Family Services of Greater Vancouver
SEED Winnipeg
Thunder Bay Counselling
Toolkit
This toolkit was developed in collaboration with community partners, and shares tools for coaches and clients in the virtual one-on-one process.
Virtual service delivery tools (Toolkit)
Resources
Webinar (May 19th): Self-care for practitioners - strategies and challenges
Connect and Share (May 27th): Self-care strategies
Webinar (June 9, 2021): Virtual one-on-one client support
Read the slides for the ‘Virtual one-on-one client support’ webinar.
Watch the video recording for ‘Virtual one-on-one client support’
Download the handouts:
Client tool: Information to remember
Tip sheet: Supporting client intake, triage, and referral in virtual financial help services
Financial coaching at a distance: Tips for practitioners
Connect and Share (June 17, 2021): Tax-time debrief
Read the slides for ‘Connect and Share: Tax time debrief’.
View additional resources in Prosper Canada’s Tax filing toolkit.
Workshop (June 21, 2001): Beyond bubble baths - self-care during a pandemic
Workshop slides: Beyond bubble baths – self-care during a pandemic
Handout: Beyond bubble baths – Self-care during a pandemic
Resources shared during session:
Native-land.ca
Indigenous languages list in British Columbia
Self-compassion.org
Tara Brach mindfulness resources
Headspace
Boho beautiful guided meditations
Webinar (June 23, 2021): Diversity and inclusion - A conversation with SEED Winnipeg
Workshop (June 24, 2021): Visualizing client experiences - Using journey maps
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Click ‘Get it’ above for video link for this webinar.
Handout: Implementing a practice of self-care
Financial Relief Navigator
The Financial Relief Navigator is an online tool that can help you find support to raise your income or lower your expenses in these challenging times. The tool will suggest income benefits or other support programs you may be eligible for in your province/territory in Canada.
Growing household financial instability: Is income volatility the hidden culprit?
On March 9th, 2018, leading American and Canadian researchers and policy makers from all sectors gathered in Toronto to explore the question: Growing household financial instability: Is income volatility the hidden culprit? The policy research symposium was an invitational event co-hosted by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Prosper Canada. Its purpose was to shine a light on an issue that has gained prominence in US economic and policy circles but was just emerging as a topic for exploration in Canada in the context of This report summarizes key insights, conclusions and next steps from the symposium in the hopes that it will inform, catalyse and support further action on this issue. To view the conference agenda and links to all conference presentations, please see Appendix 1. Presentation videos can be found online at
growing household financial instability.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0J2kAG0MZZ5gd_6ZaHjqqEcenL2jCtP
Roadblocks and Resilience
This report, Roadblocks and Resilience Insights from the Access to Benefits for Persons with Disabilities project, provides insights on the barriers people with disabilities in British Columbia face in accessing key income benefits. These insights, and the accompanying service principles that participants identified, were obtained by reviewing existing research, directly engaging 16 B.C. residents with disabilities and interviewing 18 researchers and service providers across Canada. We will use these insights to inform development and testing of a pilot service to support people with disabilities to access disability benefits. The related journey map Common steps to get disability benefits also illustrates the complexities of this benefits application process. This journey map illustrates the process of applying for the Disability Tax Credit. The journey map Persons with Disability (PWD) status illustrates the process of preparing for and applying for and maintaining Persons with Disabilities Status and disability assistance in B.C.
Cross Canada Check-up (updated March 2021)
Canada ranks consistently as one of the best places to live in the world and one of the wealthiest. When it comes to looking at the financial health of Canadian households, however, we are often forced to rely on incomplete measures, like income alone, or aggregate national statistics that tell us little about the distribution of financial health and vulnerability in our neighbourhoods, communities or provinces/territories. The purpose of this report is to examine the financial heath and vulnerability of Canadian households in different provinces and territories using a new composite index of household financial health, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI.
This report is an update of Cross Canada Check-up: Provincial/territorial findings from Canada's Neighbourhood Financial Health Index published in 2018.
Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available
Resources
Handouts, slides, and video time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Download the handout for this webinar: Process map: Virtual Self-File model overview
Time-stamps for the video recording:
4:01 – Agenda and introductions
5:59 – Audience polls
10:27 – Project introduction (Speaker: Ana Fremont, Prosper Canada)
14:31 – Tour of TurboTax for Tax Clinics (Speaker: Guy Labelle, Intuit)
17:59 – Woodgreen project pilot (Speaker: Ansley Dawson, Woodgreen Community Services)
27:35 – EBO 2-step process (Speaker: Marc D’Orgeville, EBO)
39:26 – Woodgreen program modifications (Speaker: Ansley Dawson, Woodgreen)
46:03 – Q&A
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Handouts for this webinar:
Report: Roadblock to recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadian households in the time of COVID-19 (Prosper Canada)
Survey results: Canadians with incomes under $40K bearing the financial brunt of COVID-19 (Leger and Prosper Canada)
Time-stamps for the video recording:
4:42 – Agenda and introductions
7:52 – Audience polls
10:55 – Researching consumer debt (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
18:55 – How much does debt cost? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
23:17 – How do different kinds of debt work? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
29:17 – What are people using their credit for? (Speaker: Vivian Odu)
40:49 – What help is available to Canadian borrowers? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
45:22 – Q&A
Roadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadians in the time of COVID-19
Almost half of low-income households and 62 per cent of moderate-income households carry debt, with households on low incomes spending 31 per cent of their income on debt repayments, according to a new report published by national charity, Prosper Canada.
This report analyzes the distribution, amount and composition of non-mortgage debt held by low- and moderate-income Canadian households and explores implications for federal and provincial/territorial policy makers as they develop and implement COVID-19 economic recovery plans and fulfill their respective regulatory roles.
English
French
Resources
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Handouts for this webinar:
Online financial tools and calculators (Prosper Canada)
Virtual tools for participant engagement (Prosper Canada)
Online delivery check-list (Momentum)
Jeopardy game template (SEED)
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:26 – Agenda and introductions
5:10 – Audience polls
8:19 – Virtual delivery considerations (Speaker: Glenna Harris, Prosper Canada)
12:39 – Virtual workshops best practices (Speaker: Fatima Esmail, Momentum)
33:12 – Online money management training (Speaker: Millie Acuna, SEED)
49:07 – Q&A
English
Introduction to asset building
Asset building for your future (fillable PDF)
Asset building for your future (print version)
My long-term goal action plan (fillable PDF)
My long-term goal action plan (print version)
Introduction to savings accounts
Registered savings accounts
Investing in registered accounts
Seven tips to help you stick to your goals
Glossary – asset building
Resources – asset building
Making it easier to save
Education savings
RESPs and how they can help
Before you open an RESP
Individual, family and group RESPs
Federal education grants and bonds
Provincial education grants and bonds
Family income to receive RESP government incentives
RESP sample scenarios
Plan for your RESP bank visit
My RESP action plan (fillable PDF)
My RESP action plan (print version)
Glossary – education savings
Resources – education savings
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) resources for the Canada Learning Bond (CLB):
Canada Learning Bond Application for Adult Beneficiaries
Q&A about the Canada Learning Bond for adult beneficiaries
Revised income brackets for Canada Learning Bond (July 2022 to June 2023)
French
L‘accumulation d’actifs
L’accumulation d’actifs pour votre avenir – fillable
L’accumulation d’actifs pour votre avenir – nonfillable
Mon plan d’action axé sur mon objectif à long terme – fillable
Mon plan d’action axé sur mon objectif à long terme – nonfillable
Introduction aux comptes d’épargne
Comptes d’épargne enregistrés (REEI, REEE, REER et CELI)
Investir dans les comptes enregistrés :les options et les questions à poser à votre banque
Sept conseils pour vous aider à respecter vos objectifs
Epargne-études
Les REEE : comment peuvent-ils vous aider?
Comment choisir entre unREEE individuel, familial et collectif
Les subventions et les bons d’études du gouvernement fédéral
Les subventions et les bons d’études du gouvernement provincial
Le REEE : comment peut-il vous aider à faire fructifier vos épargnes pour les études?
Arrivez préparé à votre rendez-vous à la banque pour ouvrir un REEE
Mon plan d’action en matière de REEE – fillable
Mon plan d’action en matière de REEE – nonfillable
Présentation de l’Explorateur d’allègements financiers (EAF)
L’Explorateur d’allègements financiers : un outil pour connaître les mesures d’aide et d’allègement liées à la COVID-19 dont vos clients pourraient bénéficier En réponse à la pandémie de COVID-19 et en raison de la complexité des mesures d’aide et d’allègement offertes à la population canadienne, nous avons créé l’Explorateur d’allègements financiers (EAF), un outil en ligne qui aide les gens vulnérables au Canada et ceux qui les accompagnent à accéder aux mesures d’aide d’urgence et d’allègement financier proposées par les gouvernements, les établissements financiers, les fournisseurs de services de télécommunication, de services publics et de services Internet. Soyez des nôtres pour assister à notre webinaire d’une heure animé par Elodie Young, de Prospérité Canada, qui vous présentera l’EAF et vous donnera des conseils sur la manière d’aider vos clients à accéder aux mesures d’aide et d’allègement financier. Que vous travailliez dans le secteur de la salubrité des aliments, de la santé mentale, de l'autonomisation financière, de l’établissement ou encore dans le secteur privé, venez apprendre comment aider vos clients à augmenter leur revenu et à réduire leurs dépenses pendant la crise. Ce webinaire concerne tous les fournisseurs de services de première ligne qui gagnent un faible revenu et les populations vulnérables du Canada.
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Presentation slides for this webinar
Handouts for this webinar
Introducing the Financial Relief Navigator (FRN)
Access the Financial Relief Navigator here.
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:22 – Agenda and Introductions
6:00 – Audience poll
9:00 – Why we created the Financial Relief Navigator (Speaker: Janet Flynn)
11:55 – What’s in the Financial Relief Navigator (Speaker: Janet Flynn)
16:35 – FRN Walkthrough using a Persona (Speaker: Galen McLusky)
33:15 – Tips for using the FRN (Speaker: Galen McLusky)
36:00 – The Working Centre experience using the FRN (Speaker: Sue Collison)
41:15 – Q&A
Virtual tax filing: Piloting a new way to file taxes for homebound seniors
WoodGreen Community Services, a large multi-service frontline social service agency in Toronto, provides free tax preparation services year-round to people living on low incomes. WoodGreen was interested in designing a novel solution to address the tax filing needs of homebound seniors who are unable to access WoodGreen’s free in-person tax-preparation services due to physical or mental health challenges. Specifically, WoodGreen wanted to know… How might we provide high-quality professional tax preparation services to all clients whether or not they are onsite? Prosper Canada and a leading commercial tax preparation software company partnered with WoodGreen Community Services in order to answer this design question.
English
Supported self-file process maps: English
French
English
Benefits 101
What are tax credits and benefits
Reasons to file a tax return
List of common benefits
Getting government payments by direct deposit
Common benefits and credits Benefits pathways (for practitioner reference only – some illustrations presented are Ontario benefits)
Pathways to accessing government benefits
Overview of tax benefits and other income supports (adults, children, seniors)
Overview of tax benefits and other income supports (people with disabilities or survivors)
Income support programs for immigrants and refugees
Glossary of terms – Benefits 101
Resources – Benefits 101
Key benefits you may be eligible for
Make sure you maximize the benefits you are entitled to if you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis
Common benefits and credits
Resource links:
Benefits and credits for newcomers to Canada – Canada Revenue Agency
Benefit Finder – Government of Canada
Electronic Benefits and credits date reminders – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Income Assistance Handbook – Government of Northwest Territories
What to do when you get money from the government – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Emergency benefits
General emergency government benefits information & navigation
Financial Relief Navigator tool (Prosper Canada)
Changes to taxes and benefits: CRA and COVID-19 – Government of Canada
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
Apply for Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) with CRA – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Questions & Answers on CERB – Government of Canada
What is the CERB? – Prosper Canada
FAQ: Canada Emergency Response Benefit – Prosper Canada (updated June 10th)
CERB: What you need to know about cashing your cheque – FCAC
COVID-19 Benefits (summary, includes Ontario) – CLEO/Steps to Justice
COVID-19 Employment and Work – CLEO/Steps to Justice
GST/HST credit and Canada Child Benefit
COVID-19 – Increase to the GST/HST amount – Government of Canada
Canada Child Benefit Payment Increase – Government of Canada
Benefits payments for eligible Canadians to extend to Fall 2020 – Government of Canada
Support for students
Support for students and recent graduates – Government of Canada
Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) – Government of Canada
Benefits and credits for families with children
Benefits and credits for families with children
Resource links:
Child and family benefits – Government of Canada
Child and family benefits calculator – Government of Canada
Benefits and credits for people with disabilities
Benefits and credits for people with disabilities
RDSP, grants and bonds
Resource links:
Canada Pension Plan disability benefit toolkit – Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Disability benefits – Government of Canada
Disability tax credit (DTC) – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Free RDSP Calculator for Canadians – Plan Institute
Future Planning Tool – Plan Institute
Creating Financial Security: Financial Planning in Support of a Relative with a Disability (handbook) – Partners for Planning
Nurturing Supportive Relationships: The Foundation to a Secure Future (handbook) – Partners for Planning
RDSP – Plan Institute
Disability Tax Credit Tool – Disability Alliance BC
Disability Inclusion Analysis of Government of Canada’s Response to COVID-19 (report and fact sheets) – Live Work Well Research Centre
Benefits and credits for seniors
Benefits and credits for seniors
Resource links:
Canadian Retirement Income Calculator – Government of Canada
Comparing Retirement Savings Options – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Federal Provincial Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors Forum – Employment and Social Services Canada (ESDC)
Retiring on a low income – Open Policy Ontario
RRSP vs GIS Calculator – Daniela Baron
Sources of income for seniors handout – West Neighbourhood House
What every older Canadian should know about: Income and benefits from government programs – Employment and Social Services Canada (ESDC)
French
Comprendre les prestations
Que sont les crédits d’impôt et les prestations?
Pourquoi produire une déclaration de revenus?
Processus d’accès aux prestations (simple, complexe ou laborieux)
Aperçu des prestations et crédits d’impôt et des autres mesures d’aide au revenu
Aperçu des prestations et crédits d’impôt et des autres mesures d’aide au revenu : personnes handicapées ou survivants
Programmes d’aide au revenu pour immigrants et réfugiés – Admissibilité et processus de demande
Glossaire – Prestations et credits
Ressources : Prestations et credits
Principales mesures d’aide auxquelles vous pouvez être admissibles
Assurez-vous de maximiser les prestations auxquelles vous avez droit si vous êtes Autochtone, Inuit ou Métis
Prestations et crédits courants
Prestations et crédits pour familles avec enfants
Prestations et crédits pour les personnes âgées
Informations d’identification pour accéder aux prestations
Études de cas
Financial Literacy Outcome Evaluation Tool
The Financial Literacy Outcome Evaluation Tool offers organizations a collection of evidence-based financial literacy outcomes and indicators. The tool guides users through a series of questions about their program and evaluation goals and then suggests scales (sets of questions) and individual questions they can use.
English
Getting started
Budgeting
The five Ws and H of budgeting
How to make a budget step by step
Income tracking sheet – PDF
Income tracking sheet – fillable PDF
Expenses tracking sheet – PDF
Expenses tracking sheet – fillable PDF
Simple budget template- PDF
Simple budget template – fillable PDF
Five different budgeting methods
Cashflow budget template – PDF
Cashflow budget template – fillable PDF
Ten ways to trim expenses
Resources
Budgeting and saving resources (as a printable handout)
Online budgeting tools and calculators:
Budget calculator – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Financial tools and calculators – Government of Canada
Get smarter about money: calculators & tools – Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
My expenses calculator – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)
Tools to help when you can’t pay your bills – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Information on budgeting and saving:
An essential guide to building an emergency fund – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
COVID-19: managing financial health during challenging times – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Get smarter about money: budgeting – Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
Glossary of budgeting and saving terms – Prosper Canada
Managing your money – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
My money in Canada – Prosper Canada
Setting up an emergency fund – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
Preparing for financial emergencies – Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
Planning for retirement – Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
Resources to help clients with money management:
Connecting families – Government of Canada
Managing your money booklet – Prosper Canada
Start small, save up – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Resources to help clients with budgeting at the grocery store:
Food sense, healthy cooking on a budget – Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV)
Beating the grocery store blues – Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV)
French
Matière de budget
Cinq questions à se poser en matière de budget
Comment faire un budget : un guide étape par étape
Fichier de suivi des revenus (PDF)
Fichier de suivi des revenus (PDF à remplir)
Fichier de suivi des dépenses (PDF)
Fichier de suivi des dépenses (PDF à remplir)
Modèle de budget simple (PDF)
Modèle de budget simple (PDF à remplir)
5 façons différentes de faire un budget
Budget de caisse (PDF)
Budget de caisse (PDF à remplir)
10 façons de réduire ses dépenses
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Handouts for this webinar:
How Savings Circles Works
Information about the Strive program
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:35 – Agenda and introductions
6:00 – Audience polls
10:58 – Financial empowerment interventions (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
14:00 – Savings Circles program at Momentum (Speaker: Anna Jordan)
33:18 – Strive program (Speaker: Monica daPonte)
55:50 – Q&A
English
Download in English
French
Download in French
Urban Spotlight: Neighbourhood Financial Health Index findings for Canada’s cities
This report examines the financial health and vulnerability of households in Canada’s 35 largest cities, using a new composite index of household financial health at the neighbourhood level, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI. The NFHI is designed to shine a light on the dynamics underlying national trends, taking a closer look at what is happening at the provincial/territorial, community and neighbourhood levels. Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar
Access the handouts for this webinar:
Poster presentation: Financial Empowerment for Newcomers project
Infographics: Newcomer settlement stages, money matters, and client personas
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:11 – Agenda and introductions
5:21 – Audience poll
8:25 – Introduction to Financial Empowerment for Newcomers project (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
11:25 – AXIS financial coaching program (Speaker: Sheri Abbot)
30:05 – North York Community House financial coaching program (Speaker: Noemi Garcia)
45:40 – Q&A
Financial Empowerment for Newcomers: Evaluation insights from pilot project
This fact sheet provides insights from Prosper Canada's Financial Empowerment for Newcomers pilot project conducted with three newcomer-serving organizations, Saskatoon Open Door Society (SODS), AXIS Employment Services (AXIS), and North York Community House (NYCH), who implemented and integrated financial coaching into their existing services for newcomers. The project objectives were to provide newcomer-serving front-line staff with training and resources to enable them to accurately assess newcomers’ financial literacy and connect them to appropriate information and resources and to coach newcomers to achieve successful financial independence.
Financial Empowerment for Newcomers infographic
This infographic displays data gathered from interviewing 53 newcomer participants in three provinces (Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Newfoundland) between August and October 2017. Learn more about the stages of newcomer settlement, key money topics and experiences of newcomers, and three types of newcomer client personas.
My money in Canada
Are you a newcomer to Canada, or someone who works with newcomers? This online tool will help you explore five money modules to better manage your finances in Canada. Learn about the financial system in Canada, income and expenses, setting goals and saving, credit and credit reports, and filing taxes. Updated July 26, 2022: My money in Canada provides important information about Canada’s financial system and promotes positive money management habits to support Canadians to succeed financially. Interactive exercises and checklists support you to make informed choices and to create a customized financial plan that works for you. Originally designed to support newcomers to Canada as they settle and establish themselves financially, My money in Canada has been updated to serve all Canadians, including those who are new to Canada.
RDSP calculator
Enhance the quality of life for a family member with a disability. By answering a few simple questions, the RDSP Calculator can help you project the estimated future value of an RDSP, and the approximate value of future withdrawal payments. Run various scenarios to see how it would affect the value of your RDSP. The RDSP Calculator is a tool to help you assess the potential of opening and contributing to an RDSP. The estimates provided by the Calculator are for information purposes only. The profile of your RDSP may differ from the RDSP Calculator projection.
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar:
- Prosper Canada: Webinar introduction / Improving the Benefits Screening Tool
- Bridgeable: Introduction to Service Design
Bridgeable’s handouts for this webinar:
Key takeaways for Service Design
Prosper Canada’s handouts for this webinar:
Benefits Screening Tool Phase 2 report
Pathways to benefits
Client Journey Map for ODSP application
Practitioner Workflows
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:14 – Agenda and introductions
5:51 – Audience polls
9:19 – All about service design (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
11:00 – Bridgeable: Introduction to service design (Speakers: Bonnie Tang and Minyan Wong)
35:00 – Benefits Screening tool design process (Speaker: Trisha Islam)
50:20 – Q&A
My money in Canada
This online tool will help you learn about the financial system in Canada and how to manage your money. Explore five money modules on banking, income and expenses, money goals and savings, credit, and taxes. Clients can do the modules in the order they appear, or just the ones they want to use. The tool is intended to be used with clients and settlement workers together, but can also be used by the client on their own if they are comfortable.
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar.
Access the handouts for this webinar:
How we help people – An overview (Webinar handout) – Credit Counselling Society
Our services (Webinar handout) – Credit Counselling Society
Debt solutions 101 (Webinar handout) – msi Spergel Inc
Time-stamps for the video-recording:
4:13 – Agenda and introductions
7:00 – Audience polls
12:31 – Debt in Canada (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
15:20 – Credit Counselling Society on debt management plans (Speaker: Anne Arbour)
34:05 – Spergel Msi on Consumer Proposals and Bankruptcy plans (Speaker: Gillian Goldblatt)
56:00 – Q&A
Pervasive and Profound: The Impact of Income Volatility on Canadians
In this video presentation Derek Burleton of TD Economics shares findings from the report 'Pervasive and Profound,' which examines income volatility trends in Canada. The survey found that nearly 40% of Canadians experience moderate to high income volatility. This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018. Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation. View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.
Resources
Talking to our neighbours: America’s household balance sheets
Household Financial Stability and Income Volatility, Ray Boshara, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Income volatility: What banking data can tell us, if we ask, Fiona Greig, JP Morgan Chase Institute
Up Close and Personal: Findings from the U.S. Financial Diaries, Rob Levy, CFSI
The good, the bad, and the ugly: Canada’s household balance sheets
Canada’s household balance sheets, Andrew Heisz, Statistics Canada
Income volatility and its effects in Canada: What do we know?
Pervasive and Profound: The impact of income volatility on Canadians, Derek Burleton, TD Economics
Income and Expense Volatility Survey Results, Patrick Ens, Capital One
Neighbourhood Financial Health Index: Making the Invisible Visible, Katherine Scott, Canadian Council on Social Development
What gets inspected, gets respected: Do we have the data we need to tackle household financial instability?
Do we have the data we need to tackle household financial instability?, Catherine Van Rompaey, Statistics Canada
Emerging solutions
Income volatility: Strategies for helping families reduce or manage it, David S. Mitchell, Aspen Intitute
Building consumer financial health: The role of financial institutions and FinTech, Rob Levy, CFSI
Redesigning Social Policy for the 21st Century, Sunil Johal, Mowat Centre
Strengthening retirement security for low- and moderate-income workers, Johnathan Weisstub, Common Wealth
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Read the presentation slides for this webinar
Handouts for this webinar:
Tax time insights research report – webinar handout (Prosper Canada)
Income tax checklist – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Form for missing income information – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Income tax return summary sheet – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Host checklist for tax clinics – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Forms for rental information – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Referral to FEPS – webinar handout (The Working Centre)
Time-stamps for the video-recording:
3:10 – Introductions and Agenda
6:32 – Audience polls
10:52 – Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low incomes (Speaker: Nirupa Varatharasan)
26:00 – The Working Centre tax clinic experiences (Speaker: Jen Smerdon)
Resources
Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes
Income tax filing and benefits take-up: Challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low income, Uttam Bajwa, University of Toronto
Tax time insights, Nirupa Varatharasan, Prosper Canada
“Stories from the field”: Contextualizing the barriers Indigenous People face, Erin Jeffery, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities
The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, Nancy McKenna, CVITP, Canada Revenue Agency
Supporting organizations in the CVITP, Aaron Kozak, Employment and Social Development Canada, and Melissa Valencia, Canada Revenue Agency
A Realist analysis of nonprofit tax filing services, Kevin Schachter, University of Manitoba and SEED Winnipeg
National and regional strategies to boost tax filing
The Community Volunteer Income Income Tax Program, Nancy McKenna, Canada Revenue Agency
GetYourBenefits! Diagnose and Treat Poverty, Dr. Noralou Roos, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
Get your piece of the money pie, Althea Arsenault, New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation
Innovations in tax filing assistance
Scaling tax filing assistance, John Silver, Community Financial Counselling Service (CFCS)
Virtual Tax Filing Pilot, Radya Cherkaoui, Intuit Canada, and Steve Vanderherberg, Woodgreen Community Services
Innovative use of technology for VITA, German Tejeda,
Innovative use of technology for VITA
In this presentation, German Tejeda, National Director of Financial Programs, Single Stop USA, shares results from the Virtual VITA Program in the United States since 2012. This presentation is from the session 'Innovations in tax filing assistance', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Virtual Tax Filing Pilot
In this presentation, Radya Chaerkaoui, Senior Product Manager and Innovation Catalyst, Intuit Canada, and Steve Vanderherberg, Director-Strategic Initiatives, WoodGreen Community Services, share insights from their Virtual Tax Filing Pilot program. This presentation is from the session 'Innovations in tax filing assistance', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Scaling tax filing assistance
In this presentation, John Silver, Executive Director, Community Financial Counselling Service (CFCS), Winnipeg, shares insights from the low income tax program at CFCS. This program files almost 10,000 returns each year, and also provides tax clinic support to other agencies and delivers detailed training for tax clinic volunteers. This presentation is from the session 'Innovations in tax filing assistance', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Get Your Piece of the Money Pie
In this presentation, Althea Arsenault, Manager of Resource Development, NB Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, shares insights from the 'Get Your Piece of the Money Pie' tax clinic program. This program has operated since 2010, and currently files over 23,000 returns each year. This presentation is from the panel discussion 'National and regional strategies to boost tax filing', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Get Your Benefits! Diagnose and Treat Poverty
In this presentation, Noralou P. Roos, Co-Director, GetYourBenefits! and Professor, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, explains how access to tax filing and benefits is an important poverty intervention. This presentation is from the panel discussion 'National and regional strategies to boost tax filing', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Providing tax filing and benefits assistance to Indigenous communities
In this presentation, Simon Brascoupé, Vice President, Education and Training, AFOA Canada, explains the financial wellness framework and how tax filing presents opportunities for building financial wellness in Indigenous communities. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
A Realist Analysis of Nonprofit Tax Filing Services
In this presentation, Kevin Schachter, Graduate Student at University of Manitoba and Information Manager at SEED Winnipeg, presents a realist analysis of nonprofit tax filing services. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Supporting Organizations in the CVITP
In this presentation, Aaron Kozak, ESDC and Melissa Valencia, CRA, present findings from their research on the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP). This includes recommendations for structural changes to the program, review of CVITP training, changes to registration, and more. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP)
In this presentation, Nancy McKenna, Manager, CVITP, Canada Revenue Agency, explains how the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) works. This includes eligibility requirements, the size of the program in 2017/2018, and partnerships. This presentation is from the session 'Closing the tax-filing gap: Challenges and opportunities', at the tax research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Stories from the field: Contextualizing the barriers Indigenous People face
In this presentation, Erin Jeffery, Outreach Officer with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) shares what the CRA Outreach team has learned about tax filing barriers facing Indigeous People in Canada. These barriers include lack of documentation, lack of trust, access to services, and challenges around accessing Canada Child Benefit. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low income in Canada
In this presentation, Nirupa Varatharasan, Research & Evaluation Officer with Prosper Canada, explains the research methods and insights gathered in the report 'Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low income in Canada.' This includes demographic information, the type of tax filing resources accessed by this population, and insights on the types of challenges and opportunities that result from their tax filing processes. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
Income tax filing and benefits take-up: Challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low incomes
In this presentation, Uttam Bajwa, Global Health and Research Associate with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, reports on tax filing challenges and opportunities for Canadians living on low incomes. This includes the challenges of not knowing what to do, fear and mistrust, and challenges accessing supports. This presentation is based on the research conducted for the Prosper Canada report 'Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low incomes in Canada'. This presentation is from the session 'Barriers to tax filing experienced by people with low incomes', at the research symposium hosted by Prosper Canada and Intuit, February 7, 2019, in Ottawa.
English
Download in English
French
English
2022 Tax Resources: Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency kicks off the 2023 Tax filing season
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Students
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Persons with disabilities
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Modest income individuals
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Housing insecure individuals
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Adults 65 and older
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Women in shelters
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Indigenous peoples
- Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers
Canada Dental Benefit
One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit
Get your taxes done for free at a tax clinic
Canada workers benefit
Make sure you maximize the benefits you are entitled to if you are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis
2021 Tax Resources - Canada Revenue Agency
Last-minute tax tips (Canada Revenue Agency) – April 13, 2021
New Canada Recovery Benefits – What to Expect
Answers to your questions on paying back the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Indigenous people living in Canada
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Modest income
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers
Benefits and credits fact sheet – Newcomers in Quebec
Benefits, credits, and deductions for Seniors
COVID-19 Measures for Persons with Disabilities
Benefits and credits – Persons with Disabilities
Canada Workers Benefit – Infographic
Canada Workers Benefit – promotion card
Get your taxes done for free – promotion card
Income tax basics
Why file? The benefits of tax filing (Tax toolkit)
Getting government payments by direct deposit
Income tax 101: What are tax deductions, benefits, credits, exemptions, and brackets? (Tax toolkit)
Considerations for Indigenous people at tax time (Tax toolkit)
Resources about tax filing in Canada (Tax toolkit)
Common tax deductions
Common sources of income and their tax slips
Notice of Assessment – how to read it
Community tax clinic guides
About volunteer tax clinics: Help your community members file their taxes (Tax toolkit)
Getting started as a community tax clinic (Tax toolkit)
Tax clinic staff and volunteer roles (Tax toolkit)
Tax clinic preparation: Recommended timeline (Tax toolkit)
Insights on planning free tax clinics in Indigenous communities: Infographic (Tax toolkit)
Encouraging tax filing at virtual clinics (sample “active choice” email) – The Behavioural Insights Team *NEW*
Tax clinic resources for practitioners
The tax clinic resources below are from our community partner organizations. These are examples that may be adapted to your own community tax clinic needs. Whenever possible, we have credited the original author of each document and included contact information if you would like to find out more about using and adapting the resource.
Resources to support tax clinic delivery and tax filing
Simplified Intake Form 2019 (ACSA, Scarborough, ON)
Tax Clinic Host Checklist (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Income tax checklist for participants (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Intake form for Couples (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Tax Prep Quick Reference Guide (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Other resources to support participants at tax time
Income tax summary (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Form for Missing Income Info for Revenue Canada (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Forms for rental information (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Referral to FEPS (The Working Centre, Kitchener-Waterloo, ON)
Envelope checklist (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Seniors Info Sheet – Federal and provincial benefits (E4C, Edmonton, AB)
Resources for outreach and promotion
Tax clinic flyer (ACSA, Scarborough, ON)
2019 tax clinic flyer (Jane Finch Centre, Toronto, ON)
2019 tax clinic flyer (North York Community House, Toronto, ON)
Resources to support tracking and evaluation
Tax data entry sheet – Tax toolkit (Sunrise Community Centre, Calgary, AB)
Anonymous tax tracking sheet (Aspire collective, Calgary, AB)
Additional information and resources on tax filing
Benefits, credits and financial support: CRA and COVID-19 – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Covid-19: Free virtual tax clinics – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Get ready to do your taxes – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Taking care of your tax and benefit affairs can pay off (tax filing info sheet) – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) *NEW
Slam the scam – Protect yourself against fraud – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Supported Self: File Piloting a new way to empower individuals to file taxes independently – Prosper Canada
Virtual Tax Filing: Piloting a new way to file taxes for homebound seniors – Prosper Canada
Webinar Series on Taxes (May 2020) – Momentum
French
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2022 - Agence du revenu du Canada
L’Agence du revenu du Canada lance la saison des impôts 2023
Fiche descriptive : Étudiants
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes handicapées
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes à revenu modeste
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes en situation de logement précaire
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes âgées de 65 ans et plus
Fiche descriptive : Femmes dans les refuges
Fiche descriptive : Les personnes autochtones
Fiche descriptive : Les nouveaux arrivants
Prestation dentaire canadienne
Supplément unique à l’Allocation canadienne pour le logement
Faites faire vos impôts à un comptoir d’impôts gratuit
Allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs
Assurez-vous de maximiser les prestations auxquelles vous avez droit si vous êtes Autochtone, Inuit ou Métis
Ressources de déclaration de revenus 2021 - Agence du revenu du Canada
Nouvelles prestations canadiennes de la relance économique – À quoi s’attendre
Réponses à vos questions sur le remboursement de la Prestation canadienne d’urgence (PCU)
Recevez vos versements de prestations et de crédits! – Les les autochtones qui habitent au Canada
Prestations et crédits – Revenu modeste
Nouveaux arrivants, vous pourriez recevoir des prestations et des crédits!
Nouveaux arrivants, vous pourriez recevoir des prestations et des crédits! (Quebec)
Il y a des avantages à faire ses impôts! – Personnes agées
Mesures relatives à la COVID-19 à l’intention des personnes handicapées
Des prestations et des crédits pour vous! – Les personnes handicapées
Chaque dollar compte! – L’allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs (ACT)
Chaque dollar compte! Carte promotionnelle pour l’allocation canadienne pour les travailleurs (ACT)
Faites faire vos impôts gratuitement – Carte promotionnelle
Fondements de l’impôt sur le revenu
Pouruoi declarer? Les avantages de produire une declaration de revenus
Recevoir des paiements du gouvernement par dépôt direct
Que sont les déductions, les avantages fiscaux et les crédits d’impôt?
Considérations sur la période d’impôt pour lesautochtones qui habitent au Canada
Ressources pour en savoir plus
Comptoirs d’impôt bénévoles : Aidez les membres de votre communauté
Ressources
S’occuper de ses impôts et de ses prestations peut être payant – Agence du revenu du Canada
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Presentation slides for this webinar
Handouts for this webinar:
Brief: Matched Savings programs – webinar handout (Momentum)
Matched Savings programs chart – webinar handout (Momentum)
Budget Tracker – webinar handout (Credit Counselling Sudbury)
Monthly Budget – webinar handout (Credit Counselling Sudbury)
Time-stamps for the video-recording:
3:26 – Agenda and introduction
6:17 – Audience polls
9:41 – Reasons to save (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
12:08 – Effectiveness of Matched Savings (Speaker: Dean Estrella from Momentum)
32:10 – Savings strategies for clients on low incomes (Speaker: John Cockburn from Credit Counselling Sudbury)
47:50 – Q&A
Resources
Handouts, slides, and time-stamps
Presentation slides for this webinar
Handouts for this webinar:
RESP case plan – webinar handout (from Credit Counselling Sault Ste. Marie)
RESP tracking sheet – webinar handout (from Credit Counselling Sault Ste. Marie)
RESP quick reference sheet – webinar handout (from FSGV)
RESP sample letter to schools – webinar handout (from Credit Counselling Sault Ste. Marie)
Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:00 – Agenda and introductions
5:05 – Audience polls
9:00 – Importance of education savings (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
16:00 – Credit Counselling Services Sault Ste. Marie and District (Speaker: Allyson Schmidt)
33:00 – Family Services of Greater Vancouver (Speaker: Rocio Vasquez)
54:45 – Q&A
English
Financial coaching tools - Exploring client needs and priorities
Tools for exploring client priorities
Urgent vs. important – fillable PDF
Dreams for the future
Financial wheel of life
First coaching meeting checklist
My money priorities
Values worksheet
My ‘money personality’ – fillable PDF
Key coaching skills
Coaching skills: Active listening
Coaching skills: The art of acknowledgement
COACH-ing moments
Program support tools
These are some example tools to support the coach in assessing client readiness for coaching, guiding clients towards potential actions to meet their goals, and in discovering referral support in their community.
Milestones, actions, and tools
Client readiness assessment – PDF
Client readiness assessment – fillable PDF
Financial health pre-assessment – PDF
Financial health pre-assessment – fillable PDF
Developing a referrals network
Virtual tools for participant engagement
Resources:
Virtual service delivery tools
We are grateful to Family Services Greater Vancouver in British Columbia, Thunder Bay Counselling in Ontario, and SEED Winnipeg Inc. in Manitoba for their content consultation support and resource sharing.
Supporting client intake, triage, and referral in virtual financial help services
Virtual tools for participant engagement
Implementing a practice of self-care for practitioners – PDF
Implementing a practice of self-care for practitioners – fillable PDF
Participant tools:
Action plan – PDF
Action plan – fillable PDF
Contact list – PDF
Contact list – fillable PDF
Information to remember – PDF
Information to remember – fillable PDF
Action items – PDF
Action items – fillable PDF
Please note that some of the resources below were developed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and serve as samples only. Current materials used by community agencies may have been revised to reflect updates to services and to meet public health guidelines.
Intake and assessment tools:
Intake Form – Family Services Greater Vancouver
First Financial Coaching Session Survey – Family Services Greater Vancouver
Financial Health Assessment – Thunder Bay Counselling
Financial Assessment Spreadsheet – Thunder Bay Counselling
Consent forms:
Consent to Service – Thunder Bay Counselling
Consent to Release and Obtain Information – Thunder Bay Counselling
Promotional materials:
Welcome and introduction to services brochure – Thunder Bay Counselling
Community Financial Helpline social media material (image 1, image 2, image 3) – SEED Winnipeg Inc.
Case studies and common questions
Use these case studies and common questions to practice or develop your coaching skills. Try them on your own or with your fellow staff.
Case study: Linda
Case study: Jacob
Case study: Nina
Common questions 1: “Just tell me what to do!”
Common questions 2: “There’s no point.”
Saving tools
Debt tools
Coaching conversation tips – Debt
Guide for talking to creditors
Determining debt payoff order (FC toolkit)
Debt list tool (FC toolkit) – PDF
Debt list tool (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Net worth tool (FC toolkit) – PDF
Net worth tool (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Payment arrangements worksheet (FC toolkit) – PDF
Payment arrangements worksheet (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Who do you owe? (FC toolkit) – PDF
Who do you owe? (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF