Money Mentors Volunteers

Money Mentors volunteers help community members achieve their financial goals.

Financial education and coaching can make a huge difference in people’s lives. Money Mentor volunteers offer unbiased resources and quality information at key, timely moments. Illinois Extension educators provide research-based training to volunteers who want to help others with their personal finances. Your help is needed; volunteer with Money Mentors!

Money Mentors assist individuals in our communities with personal finance strategies, including:

  • Budgeting
  • Establishing Financial Goals
  • Building Savings
  • Managing Credit
  • Organizing Finances

Participants may meet one time (for example, to ask a few questions about money management) or they may commit to meeting in-person, by phone, or a virtual communication mode at least once a month over a four-month period. After four months of mentoring, the mentor and participant decides if meetings should continue.

The goal for each meeting is to determine the most important steps a participant can make to move towards their financial goals. Money Mentors volunteers are trained in problem-solving and financial coaching strategies to help participants move forward. Read more about volunteering.

There is no cost to meet one-on-one with a Money Mentors volunteer. All meetings are confidential.

The Money Mentors program is ongoing during these extraordinary times. Mentors continue to help people by phone, email and online meetings, as well as in-person meetings. 

We do not have a date for the next volunteer training. However, we do expect there will be one or more in 2023. Register to be notified when training dates are known.

Our next training likely will be conducted online (using Zoom) as a classroom discussion with full participation of mentor trainees. Each week there will be homework in the form of activities, readings and online training. Assistance is available for anyone who is not familiar or comfortable with Zoom meetings. There may be in-person meetings as well.