Pathway Financial Education

We’re thrilled to announce: Pathway’s Pro Bono Small Business Clinic is now accepting small business owners for free one-on-one support! Every entrepreneur deserves access to expert guidance, no matter their budget. Through our clinic, Kansas City business owners can meet with volunteer professionals in areas like: ✅ Legal and accounting ✅ Marketing and human resources ✅ Insurance and risk management ✅ Banking and capital access ✅ And so much more These sessions are designed to help entrepreneurs get real, actionable solutions to challenges they face every day. It’s completely free, flexible, and built to empower business owners with the confidence and clarity they need to keep moving forward. 📅 The clinic will be held on the first and third Tuesday of every month, and spots will fill quickly. 🔗 Learn more or book your session at

Two years of impact. Two years of growth. Two years of leadership. This month marks two incredible years with our Executive Director, LaTasha Jacobs. From the very beginning, LaTasha has brought not only vision and expertise, but a heart for people, community, and transformation. Her ability to turn vision into action, and action into lasting change, has moved Pathway forward in extraordinary ways. Thank you, LaTasha, for two years of unwavering dedication, servant leadership, and the belief that financial education can change lives. 💙 Here’s to many more years of impact ahead!

Did you hear? FICO just made a big move, and it could change how credit scores work. 🏠 FICO announced a new direct licensing program that lets mortgage lenders get credit scores without going through the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). So… what does that actually mean for hopeful home buyers? Here’s the breakdown 👇 🏠 Short-term: not much changes for borrowers (yet). If you’re applying for a mortgage today, your lender still has to use FICO scores that come through one of the big three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). FICO’s new “direct licensing” program doesn’t change your score; it just changes who gets paid and how lenders obtain it. 📉 Medium-term: this could lower costs... eventually. By cutting out the credit bureaus as middlemen, lenders and resellers could save money. If that happens at scale, those savings could trickle down in small ways. For example, lower credit pull fees during mortgage applications or slightly more competition among lenders could improve loan pricing or terms. BUT those benefits depend on how widely the new system is adopted, and whether lenders actually pass savings on to consumers (not guaranteed). 🔄 Long-term: it could reshape how credit data flows. This is the bigger, more interesting impact. FICO’s move signals a trend toward more competition and modernization in credit scoring, something regulators and housing agencies have been pushing for years. That could mean more transparent pricing for credit reports, more frequent score updates, and easier ways to challenge or fix errors. It could also open doors for new types of credit data to be used (like rent, utilities, or bank transaction history), making it easier for people without long credit histories to qualify for mortgages. 🧠 In short: This shift won’t change your mortgage journey overnight, but it’s a sign that the credit scoring world is finally evolving. And when transparency and competition increase, borrowers usually win in the long run. https://lnkd.in/ektrgUfP

Who says entrepreneurship is only for the young? Nearly 30% of Americans in their 70s now work for themselves, reports The Wall Street Journal. And Business Insider found that about 27% of those in their 80s are self-employed too. These “silver startups” are reshaping what it means to build something new and are proof that experience, purpose, and independence never age. For many older adults, self-employment is about possibility. Some are launching businesses to pursue long-held dreams. Others are freelancing or consulting after facing layoffs, health limitations, or barriers to re-entering the job market. In both cases, the goal is the same: to stay active, create value, and take control of their financial future. Entrepreneurship doesn’t slow with age; it evolves with it. And if this trend tells us anything, it’s that the next great startup founder might just have a few more gray hairs than you’d expect. 👏

We’re one step closer to welcoming you back to Pathway! 🚶♀️ The sidewalk work outside our space is making real progress and is now partially accessible. While we remain closed during the final stages of construction, we’re thrilled to see this milestone. It means we’re getting closer to reopening our doors and continuing our mission of empowering our community through financial education. Thank you for your patience and support as 18th & Vine continues to improve. 🚧

On August 23, the Heartland Black Chamber launched the inaugural cohort of StriveSphere, a new business development program preparing entrepreneurs to compete for large-scale procurement opportunities. This 8-month, 20-session journey provides business owners with the training, mentorship, and connections they need to strengthen operations, improve financial readiness, and grow their capacity to serve major corporations and global events. Pathway Financial Education is proud to serve as a program partner, hosting 6–8 sessions and delivering financial education curriculum that equips entrepreneurs with the tools to scale sustainably. The pilot cohort focuses on the construction industry, with future cohorts planned for additional fields. We’re honored to collaborate alongside the Heartland Black Chamber, Turner Construction Company, and JE Dunn Construction to support small business growth in Kansas City.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of last month's Coffee with Champions at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Our Executive Director, LaTasha Jacobs, joined a standout panel of Kansas City leaders for real conversation on what it takes to lead with purpose, uplift others, and make positive change in our community. From personal stories to practical tools, the room was full of ideas and encouragement (plus plenty of coffee and connection!). Special thanks to NLBM and Starbucks for bringing us together in such a meaningful space! Looking forward to more moments like this as we continue to champion financial empowerment in Kansas City. #financialeducation #financialliteracy

Today, we honor the dedication, hard work, and resilience of workers everywhere. This Labor Day, we celebrate the contributions of workers everywhere and remain committed to helping our community protect, grow, and make the most of what they’ve earned. From all of us at Pathway: Happy Labor Day! 💙

This week, we’re celebrating two special milestones for our Adult & Youth Program Manager, Angelique Cheatem: her birthday and her 2-year anniversary with Pathway! 🎉 Angelique has made an incredible impact over the past two years. She has a true passion for this work, whether she’s guiding adults through financial education or helping youth in schools discover new possibilities for their future. Her love for teaching, dedication to our mission, and ability to connect with people of all ages are making a real difference in our community. We’re so grateful for Angelique’s leadership, heart, and commitment. Wishing her a very Happy Birthday and a big congratulations on this milestone! 🎂

The summer we learned good money habits ☀️ The ones that make us laugh, the ones that challenge us, and the ones that shape our future. Financial literacy isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress.