Earl Jarrett (second right), chief executive officer of the Jamaica National Group greets Dr Darran Newman (left), division chief, technical cooperation division, Caribbean Development Bank,while Shehryar Sarwar (second left), head of corporation and charge d’Affairs, Global Affairs Canada and Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation look on.
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Equipped with practical tools and fresh insights, civil society organisations in Kingston, Manchester, St Ann, and St James are
praising a new financial literacy workshop series that’s helping them strengthen money management and build more sustainable community projects.
The Financial Literacy for Community Champions series—held April 28 to May 1—was led by the JN Foundation in collaboration with the Caribbean
Development Bank (CDB) and Canada’s Local Engagement and Action Fund (LEAF).
The first workshop, held at Kingston’s Courtleigh Hotel, attracted over 50 participants and earned high marks for its interactive, solutions-focused approach to grassroots financial empowerment.
Participants described the session as timely and empowering. Jeanetta Thomas, of the Bucknor Concerned Citizens Benevolent Society in Clarendon, said the session was helpful and she now understands the value of budgeting.
“It was very informative; you are learning a lot in terms of money management in general. I have learnt the importance of budgeting,” she said.
Mario Galbert of the Youth Action Co-Lab in Portmore, St Catherine, noted that the workshop provided in-depth
guidance beyond the basics.
“The presentations were not only informative but also rich with practical examples,” Galbert said. “We explored what a project proposal should look like, how to assess risks, and the direct and indirect impact we want to achieve. It’s extensive and essential, especially for us in civil society organisations.”
Also participating was Cassandra McLean, a representative of the Community Development Committee (CDC) and the Police Youth Club Movement in Bull Bay, St Andrew, who found the session especially helpful for improving the effectiveness of community proposals.
“We’ve written proposals before to get sponsorships, but today’s session highlighted key points that we definitely need to consider moving forward,” said McLean. “It’s really an informative session. I’ve learnt a lot, and the networking is great.”
The workshop is part of ongoing national efforts to equip community-based organisations with the competencies to establish and maintain formal banking relationships and design effective financial management systems, as well as skills to better meet donor requirements.
Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, underscored the need for civil society organisations to be grounded in financial literacy, as she said there is a real gap in this area. She said the intention was to replicate the workshops in other parishes and indicated that the JN Financial Academy will be offering its first financial literacy course tailored for community organisations potentially in September.
Richardo Aiken, community development specialist at the CDB, in addressing the workshop, said that the initiative aims to deepen community involvement and reach.
“What we found is that for our programmes to be sustained, there must be greater focus on the community’s capacity. Not [just building] roads and
general training programmes, but how these groups can be strengthened,” Aiken said.
“We found in Jamaica lovely partners in the form of the JN Foundation, and when the private sector joins forces with the development partners, amazing things happen, and we are here today for another amazing demonstration of us being humble and selfless and putting people first,” he said.
Stepphanie Coy, programme manager, Field Support Services Project – Caribbean, implementors of LEAF, said her organisation was happy to be on board with this initiative as she emphasised the importance of capacity building for community organisations.
“We know how important capacity building is for strong, sustainable organisations, and so within the grant funds that we provide to civil society organisations, we also provide CA$2,000 for them to use as they see fit to fulfil a capacity gap that they have in their organisations,” she said, noting that LEAF supports initiatives that are sustainable.
The workshops took place April 28 to May 1, 2025, in Kingston, Manchester, St Ann, and St James.
The JN Foundation, CDB and LEAF partnership is in response to research indicating a low level of financial literacy in Jamaica. The Bank of Jamaica’s ‘Financial Literacy Baseline Survey, 2022’ highlights that only 33 per cent of Jamaicans demonstrated knowledge of basic financial principles.
A 2024 beneficiary assessment done by the CDB’s Basic Needs Trust Fund in Guyana, Jamaica, and St Lucia identified the need for non-profits to prioritise
capacity development to strengthen their financial management and financial literacy skills. The report emphasised that the achievement of long-term
sustainability for these groups depends on structured financial management training.