Letter from the Board Chair

Dear Friends of RISE,

Every year, throughout the Memphis community, many of our hardest-working citizens fall short of their dreams and goals of improving their financial stability and providing a better quality of life for themselves and their families. As we try to build a workforce that supports local businesses, we sometimes fail to see the important role financial literacy plays in preparing local workers.

RISE Foundation was founded to provide opportunities and incentives for low-income workers seeking to increase their financial literacy. Our mission is to help people help themselves. By investing in our neighbors and empowering them with knowledge of basic financial skills, RISE puts people in a position to successfully achieve their goals. Among those goals are home ownership; microenterprise; post-secondary education; purchasing their first car; or simply saving for the future for the first time in their lives. And our work has a domino effect, with program participants sharing their knowledge with friends, family and colleagues.

RISE continues to grow in terms of the number of Memphians served, in our fundraising efforts, and in community awareness around the hard work and great accomplishments of program participants. RISE is almost entirely dependent upon private funding from corporate and private citizens. We are so grateful to our long-time supporters and patrons, as well as new donors who are learning about the successes of our participants. RISE has truly proven to be a great investment in our community and we hope you will continue to contribute financially and help us share our story.

Terri Browne

Chairman

RISE Board of Directors