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THE SUPERVITAMIN QUARTERLY
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Letter From The President
Welcome to the first edition of The Supervitamin Quarterly- the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund's new quarterly newsletter. The purpose of The Supervitamin Quarterly is to keep you informed of our on-going efforts to spread and support municipal financial empowerment programs nationwide.
For those who do not know us, the CFE Fund works with cities to improve the financial stability of low and moderate income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government services. To learn more about us, I encourage you to visit our website, cfefund.org.
At the core of our work is the belief that cities are uniquely positioned to lead financial empowerment efforts. Cities act as large-scale touch points for people and families in need, controlling funding, programs and local policies that can effect systems change. Cities are on the front lines, able to see the issues affecting their residents, and nimble enough to innovate and address those issues. Through the pioneering work of member cities in the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition, we've become experts in the intricacies of local programming and politics necessary to achieve large scale financial empowerment results, increasingly integrating cutting edge programs into large public anti-poverty efforts to achieve promising host "supervitamin effect" on outcomes.
In a recent Brooking Institute publication, The Metropolitan Revolution, Bruce Katz calls cities the "great laboratories and engines of our economy." In his recent column for The New York Times Tom Friedman wrote, "...if you want to be an optimist about America today, stand on your head. The country looks so much better from the bottom up - from its major metropolitan areas - than from the top down." This is where we come in. The CFE Fund works with city leaders to identify successful financial empowerment programs and replicate them on a local level, thereby providing innovative, scalable and proven services across the nation.
Stay tuned for more updates and ways in which you can get involved. We look forward to working with you. And please, do not hesitate to e-mail us with any questions or ideas at [email protected].
Best,
Jonathan Mintz
President
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One in every four people has errors on their credit report.
A counselor at a Financial Empowerment Center can help make sure credit reports are accurate and up to date.
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WE ARE HIRING
To learn more about joining the CFE Fund team, click here
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WHAT'S NEXT
Join us for next month's Twelve in Twelve webinar "Bank On Providence" on October 24, 2013 at 4pm EST. To register, click here
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The JPMorgan Chase Foundation and CFE Fund Announce Nationwide Effort in Support of Under-Banked Households
The CFE Fund is pleased to announce a new partnership with the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to launch Bank On 2.0. The new initiative will identify best practices and build a national, evidence-based strategy that will help people, who might otherwise be subject to costly alternative financial services, access basic, safe and affordable bank services. The program will build on the grassroots success of a wide array of Bank On programs-as well as similar banking access programs-- in cities across the country including San Francisco and Seattle.
The ultimate goal is to create a national approach and infrastructure that includes products, services, best practices, resources and other technical assistance that will facilitate local municipal efforts to connect unbanked and under-banked residents to safe and affordable mainstream banking services. By developing comprehensive, proven models, Bank On 2.0 will help individuals successfully navigate the financial system--enhancing their ability to build savings, assets and reach overall financial stability.
The JPMorgan Chase Foundation's $1.15 million seed funding commitment is a two-year grant that will complement the CFE Fund's raising of matching funds from other partner organizations, including other financial institutions.
Janis Bowdler, Managing Director, Consumer Financial Empowerment and Affordable Housing, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, said, "Expanding access to the banking system is critical to helping people improve their financial stability and economic security. We are excited to work with leaders across the U.S. to identify and scale solutions that work to help low-and moderate-income families make sound financial decisions and build their assets."
To learn more, click here
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FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS UPDATE
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Financial Empowerment Centers Provide 7,500 Counseling Sessions Across Five Cities in Five Months
In January the CFE Fund, with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, awarded grants to five cities to replicate New York City's successful Financial Empowerment Centers. Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA; and San Antonio, TX were selected to receive Financial Empowerment Center grants through a competitive process in which nearly 50 cities applied.
Since the Centers opened their doors in early March, counselors have conducted nearly 7,500 counseling sessions, helping more than 3,650 clients work to pay down debt, access safe and affordable banking products, increase savings, and improve their credit scores.
In Lansing for example, one of our counselors has been working with Jane, a single mother recently released on parole. Jane and her counselor started by reviewing her credit report and correcting errors on collection accounts that had been paid or were covered under her medical coverage, reducing her debt by 23 percent. Jane has since obtained full-time employment, transitioned from a shelter into stable housing, and is in the process of applying for a second chance checking account. Over the next few weeks, Jane will be working with a counselor to focus on payment arrangements to bring down her debt further and begin saving.
To learn more about the Financial Empowerment Centers, click here.
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CFE Fund In Kind Technical Assistance Grants For Financial Empowerment Programs
In response to overwhelming interest from cities across the country, the CFE Fund has released an RFP for in-kind technical assistance grants for cities that are interested in implementing local Financial Empowerment Center programs. To be eligible, cities must demonstrate progress towards raising funds to support a Financial Empowerment Center program, with the goal of a January 2014 program start date and doors open for service in March 2014. Programs must also meet the minimum requirements outlined in the RFP with regard to model fidelity. For selected cities, the CFE Fund will provide on-going technical assistance resources and support, free of cost.
For more information and instructions on how to apply, access the RFP here. The deadline for applications is November 15th. To learn more, please contact CFE Fund Program Manager Anne Emig at [email protected]
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FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT ON CAPITOL HILL
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Congressman Serrano and 20 Co-Sponsors Introduce "Financial Security Credit Act." Bill Builds on SAVEUSA, NYC's Tax Time Savings Incentive Program
In August, Congressman Jos� E. Serrano introduced the "Financial Security Credit Act of 2013," a bill to encourage a higher household savings rate nationwide by incentivizing savings by low- and moderate-income earners at tax time. The FSCA offers a proven approach to support economic stability by providing meaningful and accessible avenues to building savings. Under the proposed legislation, tax filers with low and moderate incomes could:
- Apply for the refundable Financial Security Credit on their federal income tax for
- Directly deposit part of their tax refund in eligible savings products, including a basic savings account
- Open an eligible account on the tax form, if needed
- Receive a 50% match - up to $500 - on savings they maintain for eight months
To learn more about the Bill, click here. To read more about SAVE USA, click here. To speak with the CFE Fund about connecting to this work, please contact I-Hsing Sun at [email protected]
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