"The objective of this presentation is to showcase a higher education initiative that integrates a financial capability program for vulnerable individuals with a community development curriculum. The program integrates two experiential learning courses where students are trained for one semester as financial capability coaches for vulnerable households and one semester as community development analysts, planners and facilitators. The experiential components include working as coaches with households and working on a joint project with the city, a community based organization or a local non profit. Financial capability is “the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial resources effectively”. Financial capability requires individuals to have both the ability to act and the opportunity to act in their own benefit (Sherraden, 2010). This capability therefore depends on an individual's skills and actions but also on an environment- a community- that creates opportunities. The first component of our curriculum focuses on the ‘ability’ aspect of financial capability with a financial coaching course, while the second component of our curriculum focuses on the ‘opportunity’ aspect, deepening students' understanding of the process and skills of community and regional development. "