April is Financial Capability Month, a time when schools, credit unions, nonprofits – even the government – try to raise awareness about the importance of financial capability. It's also spring. And what better way to join the two than by doing some financial spring cleaning?

When she needs inspiration, Chrystel Cornelius looks to her grandmother. A member of the tribal nation of The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Mary Cornelius was the victim of assimilation, sent to boarding school to learn to be someone else's idea of "American."But after she graduated, she became a founder of the American Indian Movement, a civil rights organization.

The Tableau Fellows, a cohort chosen from among NeighborWorks America's network organizations, work to tell new stories about their nonprofits through the information they collect, with the help of mentors, using Tableau, which helps organi

Leslie Reid was born into a family of two: It was her and her mother, alone in New York, in need of better prospects. Reid spent time in foster care while her mother went to find them a home. Her family grew exponentially when she rejoined her mother, who had found work in Boston with a community of social workers. They'd started an organization for homeless youth, Reid says, and they lived together and worked together, providing shelter and services. 

When you attend a NeighborWorks training, there's a good chance you may see Robin Gordon. She's been learning with NeighborWorks for over 15 years. She's incorporated what she's learned into her work so much, that when she shares ideas in staff meetings, her colleagues expect her to end with "I learned that at NeighborWorks training." In fact, it's become somewhat of an office slogan. 

In a video released this week, Pandemic Response: Perspectives on Housing, national leaders in housing development provided the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with an in-depth look on the way COVID-19 has affected residents – and on the effectiveness of pandemic response programs as they relate to housing. Staying housed during this time is recognized as a public health issue.

Don Gilmore, CEO of Community Housing Development Corp. (CHDC), is keeping his community green. In California, where the environment is first on a lot of people's minds, his NeighborWorks organization is putting energy into green buildings and a transportation assistance program that helps low-income individuals buy or lease "clean" cars.

Carrie Davis, president and CEO of Wealth Watchers, Inc., a NeighborWorks organization, began helping Black farmers during the 2008 housing crisis, encouraging them to use their land to grow food to keep families and neighbors fed – and to provide extra money to offset job losses when factories shut down. In 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic and the economic crisis that accompanied it, she is again encouraging backyard farmers to let the land help with both food and finances.