Sock Away $400 For Rainy Day Under New Brooklyn Program

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — All-too-often a financial rainy day comes and Brooklynites don’t have enough in the bank. A new borough-wide campaign hopes to give them shelter from those storms.

Borough President Eric Adams and Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation on Wednesday unveiled #BrooklynSaves, a series of efforts to help residents build up emergency savings.

They aim to help 1,000 Brooklynites save a combined $40,000 through a combination of direct incentives and resources to help disadvantaged communities plan their finances.

"We must make financial literacy the norm, not the exception, so that all communities can participate in our economy on an equal footing," Adams said in a release.

Nearly one in two Americans, not just Brooklynites, don't have access to $400 without borrowing or selling an asset, according to the organizers.

The program aims to help residents save that $400.

Early participants in #BrooklynSaves have a chance to earn $60 if they sign up for SaverLife, a nonprofit savings program that matches monthly savings of $20 with $10 for up to six months, according to a release.

Several local organizations pledged to match funds with employees who open SaverLife accounts, the release states.

Education will be a major program plank — Restoration's Economic Solutions center outlines a swath of courses, seminars and one-on-one coaching sessions the organization offers.

Restoration also plans to offer education panels and roundtables to help residents build up their emergency savings.

“Emergency savings will be used for anything from a surprise hospital visit to a last minute run to the grocery store, meaning the difference between going to jail or work, being evicted or having peace of mind," Restoration President Colvin W. Grannum said in a release.

More information can be found at SaverLife and Restoration's Economic Solutions center.