Author: Katie Plat

Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund Launches Free Legacy Planning Supports to Increase Asset Protection and Intergenerational Wealth

Posted on by Katie Plat

In this October 2025 press release, the CFE Fund announced the launch of free legacy planning services as a core component of the national Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) model. FECs across the country will now help clients with legacy planning and taking steps to protect their assets. This new service is an addition to the FEC model, which also supports clients in money management, budgeting, reducing debt, establishing and improving credit, connecting to safe and affordable banking services, and building savings through free, one-on-one professional counseling as a public service.  

Read the full press release here. Visit www.fecpublic.org to learn more about the FEC model. 

The Skyline: How Two Municipalities Built Innovative Approaches to Local Consumer Financial Protection

Posted on by Katie Plat

To ensure strong financial futures for residents, local governments increasingly are using their unique
powers to protect consumers from scams, fraud, and financial abuse. Two municipalities offering
notable consumer protection models are Cuyahoga County, OH—who launched a “Scam Squad”
to combat financial scams—and Denver, CO, who passed an innovative wage theft ordinance and
launched an accompanying complaint hotline to support enforcement.

Click here to read the Skyline and learn about this important work.

And click here to subscribe and get the next issue of the Skyline in your inbox. 

CFE Fund Comment Letter on the Proposal to Rescind the 2023 Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule

Posted on by Katie Plat

The CFE Fund recently submitted a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in response to their request for comment on the proposed rulemaking rescinding the 2023 Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule (CRA). Citing the findings of our Bank On and Financial Empowerment Center initiatives—which have demonstrated how access to safe and affordable banking accounts is imperative to individual financial stability—we urged supervising agencies to ensure that banks offering accounts that benefit the local community receive CRA credit, regardless of the rule set chosen by regulators. This credit serves as a significant motivator for financial institutions to continue offering these pivotal accounts.

Read the full letter here.

The Skyline: How Two Transit Agencies Leveraged Payment System Changes As Banking Access Opportunities

Posted on by Katie Plat

By connecting riders to Bank On certified accounts, two local transit agencies used the shift to contactless payment to help bring riders into the financial mainstream. Read the full issue here. 

And click here to subscribe and get the next issue of the Skyline in your inbox. 

Six Cities to Develop Local Wealth Building Strategies

Posted on by Katie Plat

In this June 2025 press release, the CFE Fund announced that six new cities have been chosen to join the next CityStart cohort. The CityStart initiative helps local leaders develop and implement proven strategies to help local families and communities become more financially stable.

The CFE Fund will partner with the cities of Kansas City, MO; Memphis, TN; Milwaukee County, WI; Savannah, GA; Springfield, MA; and St. Petersburg, FL. Through the CityStart initiative, each city will receive a $100,000 grant to help craft innovative, actionable blueprints tailored to their communities that foster financial stability across generations. The blueprints will align with and serve to support each local Administration’s priorities and partnership opportunities.

Read the full press release here.

Seven Cities Enhance Small Business Services by Offering Financial Counseling for Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Katie Plat

In this March 2025 press release, the CFE Fund accounced the selection of seven local governments to offer small business owners and entrepreneurs one-on-one Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) financial counseling through the CFE’s Small Business Boost (SBB) initiative. Selected partners (which include Akron, OH; Aurora, IL; Columbus, OH; Louisville, KY; Polk County, IA; Rochester, NY; and Sacramento, CA) will connect their Financial Empowerment Center initiatives, which offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service, to local business support services.

Read the full press release.

CFE Fund Comment Letter on Bank-Fintech Partnerships

Posted on by Katie Plat

The CFE Fund recently submitted a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve Board in response to their request for information about Bank-FinTech partnerships. The letter highlighted our concerns about the importance of access to mainstream bank accounts and the significant safety risks associated with alternative FinTech provided products. We specifically highlighted the limited impact of increased transparency and education on the ability to understand differences between the mainstream and alternative products.

Read the full letter here.

The Skyline: How Two Cities Leveraged Financial Empowerment as Connective Tissue for Housing Success

Posted on by Katie Plat

By connecting financial empowerment to rental assistance programs, two cities supercharged social service success and brought together a range of partners to build a cohesive ecosystem around longer-term financial stability. Read the full issue here.

And click here to subscribe and get the next issue of the Skyline in your inbox.

CFE Comment Letter to National Association of State Workforce Agencies on Open UI Initiative

Posted on by Katie Plat

The CFE Fund recently submitted a comment letter to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) in response to their request for information on the Open Unemployment Insurance Initiative. Citing evidence from a range of CFE Fund work—including the success of our national Bank On initiative in assisting the Internal Revenue Service connect stimulus recipients to banking for direct deposit and our partnerships with the State of Illinois’s Department of Employment Security and the State of Maryland’s Division of Unemployment Insurance, incorporating access to safe and affordable banking accounts into the benefits application processes—the letter highlighted the importance of leveraging government payment systems to promote safe banking access. 

Read the full letter here.