Financial Coaching
Build Financial Confidence and Knowledge
Empowering individuals and families deeply rooted in agriculture, our no-cost Financial Coaching Program offers a comfortable, judgment-free zone to delve into the often-taboo topic of finances, encouraging open conversations and learning in a safe environment.
Over four monthly Zoom sessions, totaling six hours of personalized guidance, participants will explore essential financial concepts, money management strategies, and effective budgeting techniques. Our program pairs you with a dedicated financial coach, Allison Bishop, CPA, and focuses on curiosity, growth, and proactive learning rather than traditional buyer-seller interactions. You’ll gain knowledge in your areas of interest which may include budgeting and spending plans, growing savings, managing debt, building your credit score, and investing and retirement planning.
The MAMP Financial Coaching Program is designed to:
- Assist individuals & families in agriculture in gaining confidence and understanding around basic financial concepts and practices.
- Provide a model to seek out resources and expertise around money management, planning, budgeting.
- Create an intentional and low barrier opportunity to discuss and explore an often taboo and uncomfortable subject: money!
- Provide a different experience: working proactively with a financial coach in environment that focuses on curiosity, learning, and growing understanding – instead of the norm: interactions with financial professionals only as a borrower, buyer, or seller.
- Build transferable skills and knowledge in personal financial management that can flow into aspects of farm business.
Your Journey, Our Support
Your time and thoughtfulness in (a) attending scheduled sessions with Allison, the Financial Coach, (b) completing three brief surveys and (c) one Financial Coaching Intake Form – provided by Allison — for this no-cost program ($1,110 value).
Registration
Eligibility: Farmers, fishers, other folks who work in Maine Agriculture (Limited to 12 individuals or families).
Enrollment/ Application Period: November 1, 2023 to February 15, 2024.
Financial Coaching Sessions Available: November 1, 2023 to May 15, 2024.
About Allison Bishop, CPA
With twenty-five years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant, Allison specializes in aligning financial decisions with personal values. Graduating from the College of William & Mary in 1997 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, she spent nearly a decade working in public accounting, litigation consulting, and forensic accounting in Washington, DC.
More recently, Allison has contributed expertise to Portland, Maine’s local accounting firms, focusing primarily on individual tax returns. Driven by a passion for personal finance ignited by a childhood shaped by healthy financial discussions, she now focuses on guiding individuals towards financial wellness. She actively serves as a FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator.
For More Information
Do you have questions? Contact the Maine Agricultural Mediation Program (MAMP) at maineagmediation@maine.edu or Lucy at 207.974.9637.
For more information or a reasonable accommodation, please contact Lucy Wess at lucille.wess@maine.edu, or 207.974.9637.
In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 412, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5713, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).