Financial Capability Scale (FCS)

Most Recent Scale: (PDF Version) (Word Version) (Encuesta Financiera)

FCS Scoring Guide

The Center for Financial Security (CFS) and Annie E. Casey Foundation have developed a short set of standardized client outcome measures to create the Financial Capability Scale (FCS). In 2011, CFS worked with four organizations to collect data on client outcome measures, with the goal of refining a small set of measures that can be used across programs. The project aimed to increase coordination across organizations so the financial coaching field can improve its capacity to demonstrate client impacts. The findings from the project extend beyond the coaching field and can be applied to other financial capability services. 

Resources about the project:

CFS and the Asset Funders Network (AFN) with support and collaboration from the Annie E. Casey Foundation produced a webinar on the FCS. To view this webinar, slides from the presentations, and other resources related to the FCS, please visit AFN’s webpage here. CFS received many questions about the FCS following the webinar, please see the Q&A: FCS Webinar Question & Answer Sheet

A special thanks to all those who helped with this project. We also acknowledge the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation for hosting this event and supporting the Center’s research and outreach around financial coaching. We thank Bon Secours of Baltimore, MD; the Financial Clinic of New York City; LISC Chicago; and the University of Wisconsin Extension for their efforts in gathering and sharing data.

Citing the FCS in journals (BibTex format):

@techreport{collins_2013_57102,
  author       = {J. Michael Collins and Collin {O'Rourke}},
  title        = {Financial Capability Scale (FCS)},
  month        = August,
  year         = 2013,
  institution         = {{University of Wisconsin Madison, Center for Financial Security}},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.57102},
  url          = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.57102}
}

Collins, J.M. & O’Rourke, C. (2013) Financial Capability Scale (FCS), University of Wisconsin Madison, Center for Financial Security. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.57102