Community Cohort

Applications for the Financial Resilience Community Cohort are no longer being accepted.

The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) is seeking applications for the new Financial Resilience Community Cohort. IEI welcomes community-based organizations from across North Carolina that work to increase household financial resilience, especially for communities with historically increased barriers to saving and debt management, to apply to participate in this cohort.

Five community-based organizations will be chosen to be a part of the Financial Resilience Community Cohort. The cohort is part of IEI’s work on household financial resilience, which was the topic of the recent 2024 Emerging Issues Forum. Financial resilience is the ability of a household to withstand and recover from economic challenges. 

“IEI believes that local communities—with their traditions, willingness to work and history of coming together in tough times to solve big challenges—are the unit of change to spark action,” said IEI Director of Community Initiatives Samantha Graham. “The members of this cohort will be the experts that can lead change and inspire others to raise household resilience levels across North Carolina.”

The organizations selected for the Financial Resilience Community Cohort will work with IEI and each other over a two-year period to implement solutions that make them stronger and better equipped to succeed. Selected organizations will participate in the cohort at no cost and will receive the following benefits:

• Increased visibility for their organization’s efforts. 
• Free organizational assessment to enhance their ability to effectively complete their work. Additional support will be tailored to the specific needs of each organization and will take place over a 12- to 18-month period, depending on the time needed to deliver the support.
• Participation in a peer learning network to share with—and learn from—organizations with similar goals in communities across the state.