Empowering Black moms to take charge of their finances and future

What started as a Facebook group of just 12 friends in 2015 has flourished into an online global community of almost 30,000 moms around the world.

Tanya Hayles, founder of Black Mom’s Connection (BMC), says the seed for the non-profit was planted when she was looking for an answer to a seemingly simple question.

“I was at a splash-pad with my son and I was wondering, do they make sunscreen for black skin?” she told CityNews. Unable to find the answer in other mom groups, she started one of her own after asking some friends if they would join.

Hayles says the group seemed to fill an unaddressed void in the online parenting community.

“We went from 400 to 4,000 in the spring of 2016. So we were like, ‘oh, this is a thing that people like and people need’,” she said.

Determined to provide more than just words of support and commiseration, Hayles turned her focus on tools and resources that would be culturally relevant and useful to Black mothers.

“I’m really big on tangibles. I want to make sure that people don’t just leave motivated, but that they have actual information that they can apply and use,” she said.

“Nothing beats money”

Among the concrete ways in which BMC supports the members of its community is cash grants because, as Hayles says “nothing beats money, of course.”

The organization’s emergency grant was launched in early 2020 and that year, they gave out $45,000 in grant money for short term, immediate needs like groceries or formula. The following year, Hayles says they had less to work with, but were still able to give out about $15,000.

Thereafter, as needs grew during the pandemic, BMC launched a rent bank.

“Dollars had to stretch, food has gotten more expensive … kids are home. You have to increase your Wi-Fi, buy more devices,” explained Hayles.

The fund helps pay a portion of rent for those who need it to “alleviate one of their biggest expenses.”

“[That way] the money that a mom does have, she can be put towards food, she can put it towards a new data plan,” said Hayles.

Moms managing money

One of BMC’s signature events is their annual Financial Literacy Summit launched in 2015, catering specifically to the financial questions and concerns of Black mothers.

“It was born organically, just seeing the conversations that were taking place day-to-day in the group itself,” explained Hayles. “People wanting to know — how do you save for your kids’ education? Who has a will and where do you even get one done? [How to] save for their children’s futures.”

With sponsorship from TD bank, the group put together what Hayles calls “the premier financial literacy conference for and by the black community” and from the second year, spouses and partners were also welcomed,

She explains that many members who attend are first-generation Canadians whose parents immigrated from the Caribbean or Africa with no knowledge of the Canadian credit system.

“Maybe they learned the hard way what not to do. Maybe some were able to figure it out and flourish,” she said.

The event aims to remove the guess work and features Black financial professionals who explain saving, investing and building generational wealth in ways that address the specific needs of the community — like understanding that they don’t talk openly about money and finances.

“You don’t ask your parents how much you make or how much money do you have in the bank. It’s go to school, get an education, get a job and figure out life from there,” she said.

In addition Hayles says while women in general make less than men, Black women face an even larger wage gap and are often funneled into careers with a lack of scope for promotions and upward mobility.

“A lot of the times we are making less and we have to make do with less,” she said. “So having someone who understands that and … that you didn’t grow up talking about money, that your parents have this specific type of belief on how to talk about money, how to manage money, the mismanagement of money — [it feels like] this makes sense to me as a Black person, this Black person gets me, they’re part of the community. They have that cultural understanding.”

At the end of the two-day summit, Hayles reiterates that she doesn’t want people to leave with just inspiration.

“I need you to leave with a notebook full of who to follow, books to buy, apps to download. I want you to have takeaways that you can literally take away,” she said.

From the summit was born Fin Lit U in 2020 — an eight-week intensive financial masterclass. Hayles says as BMC had established itself as a trustworthy and valuable resource for the community, Fin Lit U was a success from day one.

“When we launched the applications for Fin Lit U we got 200 in the first 24 hours. It shows that people trust us to provide the information that they need in the way that they need it,” she said.

Those who attend are divided into cohorts of 12 and learn about budgeting, saving, credit, investing, taxes and wills and estates as well as building generational wealth. Applications for the next cohort starting in April are open now.

Hayles adds that BMC has a follow up process so that attendees stay accountable and truly put what they have learned to use. Six-months after the summit or course has ended, BMC follows up with an email check-in and reminder.

“[We ask] did you call your credit card company to lower your interest rate? Have you opened an investment account? What have you actively done to move yourself forward?” she explained. “I think that that’s really key — making it a communal effort, we are not gonna be able to succeed and get ahead on our own.”

In the future, Hayles hopes to launch a financial literacy app so that people can access information and financial education conveniently and quickly.

“It [will be a] curriculum written by Black financial professionals, so it’s still culturally relevant. People can do it in their own time, at their own pace and still get something out of it. So in that way, we can get this into the hands of more people in the country, but eventually around the world,” she said.

Hayles adds that the big picture goal is to effect large-scale, societal change by starting at the grassroots level.

“Our ability to change Canadian society and how Black women are able to move through it and feel confident and feel competent in their financial literacy starts at this level that we’re doing it at. We’re a very matriarchal community, if the mom succeeds the whole entire community succeeds.”