The Prosperity Agenda Launches Family-Centered Prosperity Project to Empower Families Through Coaching and Peer Support

JACKSON, Miss., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prosperity Agenda proudly announces the launch of the Family-Centered Prosperity Project, an initiative designed to empower families through innovative prosperity coaching and peer support models. This transformative project, funded by a generous $550,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will span two years and be piloted in Jackson, MS, building resilient and community-driven financial well-being strategies.

At a time when social service agencies are facing financial uncertainty, The Prosperity Agenda is introducing a model that strengthens families and communities without relying on government funding. "Our approach leverages Family-Centered Coaching (FCC) and Social Capital through Prosperity Networks, making coaching and peer support accessible, sustainable, and resilient to economic downturns," said Jomaris DeJesus, Executive Director of The Prosperity Agenda. "By shifting the focus to the strengths of families and their communities, we ensure that meaningful support is available, regardless of external funding challenges."

The Family-Centered Prosperity Project aims to expand on the framework of Family-Centered Coaching, equipping practitioners with tools to have financial conversations with program participants that center their values—a component often missing in traditional financial education frameworks in human services, which tend to focus on technical financial skills rather than human-centered. The framework will also include Prosperity Pathways, a holistic toolkit that recognizes the complex realities families navigate and helps case managers support career conversations in a way that honors individual values and goals. Finally, the project will launch Prosperity Networks—peer support groups where families can share experiences, gain insights, and build financial resilience. This will be measured with a Social Capital Index, especially designed with common prosperity barriers in mind, to measure and strengthen the relational networks that contribute to financial well-being.

Circles USA will serve as the subject matter expert in developing the Prosperity Networks, bringing its expertise in structured peer support to ensure families can cultivate social capital in community and long-term financial security.  Kamatara Johnson, Executive Director at Circles USA, emphasized the importance of peer support: "The relationships in Circles cultivate qualities like autonomy and belonging, a sense of inherent worth and hope in our participants." Circles USA has seen how peer support can be a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty. "When families come together in community to share experiences and strategies, they build confidence, resilience, connections, and a sense of belonging that is crucial for economic mobility and long-term success."

"At the heart of this initiative is the recognition that financial well-being is deeply personal and rooted in the values of each family," said DeJesus. "By centering those values in financial coaching and support, we create systems that uplift families in meaningful, lasting ways."

The Family-Centered Prosperity Project represents a groundbreaking shift in financial empowerment strategies, focusing on people-driven solutions that can endure financial downturns. The Prosperity Agenda and Circles USA are committed to driving systemic change that prioritizes community-based solutions, ensuring that families have the resources, knowledge, and support needed to thrive.

About The Prosperity Agenda

The Prosperity Agenda is a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping human services agencies with participant-centered practices, redesigning economic opportunity programs to better serve families. Through Family-Centered Coaching, research, and partnerships. Learn more at: https://theprosperityagenda.org/

About Circles USA

Circles USA is a national organization committed to reducing poverty through relationship-driven solutions. By fostering peer support and social capital across the community, Circles USA empowers individuals and families to achieve economic mobility. Led by those with the lived experience, Circles also works to remove the barriers that keep people in poverty. Learn more at https://www.circlesusa.org/

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org

Contact:
Rachel Dickey
The Prosperity Agenda
[email protected] 

SOURCE The Prosperity Agenda