Our Vision

The Center for Economic Progress envisions an America of shared prosperity, where all working families can access the financial opportunities they need to succeed.

Our Mission

The Center for Economic Progress helps hard-working, low-income families move from financial uncertainty to financial security. 

Local in service but national in voice, we achieve our mission in three ways: 

• We provide trusted tax and financial counseling, giving Illinois families the tools to make sound choices. 
• We lead a national coalition of organizations that promote economic progress for low-wage workers and their families. 
• We advance policies and practices to create a financial system that works for all.

Our Values

Mission-Driven 

We are passionate about our mission. It fuels and drives our work every day and in every way. We are committed to having measurable impact on people’s lives. We seek to address root causes, and we realize that this requires us to address issues at multiple levels by providing services of the highest-caliber.

Accountability

The true measure of our success is whether individual lives—and communities—change for the better as a result of our work. We recognize that the way we do things is extremely important in determining what we achieve.

Respect 

We respect and value diversity in our employees, board members, volunteers and our clients.  We treat all people equally and with dignity.

Integrity

Our thoughts, words and actions are in alignment. We do what we say, and we say what we mean. We always do the right thing—that which is ethically correct—even when no one is looking.

Recognition of Employees’ Value

We recognize employees as our best assets, and we strive to celebrate each other’s accomplishments. We work to create a positive environment where we express our appreciation for, and recognition of others.