Katie Plat

CFE Fund to Expand Free Financial Counseling to 50 Cities Through FEC Public Platform

Posted on November 14, 2017March 15, 2018 by Katie Plat

This November 2017 press release announces the first cohort of 12 local government partners selected to develop plans to replicate the proven Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) model under the CFE Fund’s new FEC Public platform.

Twelve local governments (Akron, OH; Detroit, MI; Greenville County, SC; Houston, TX; Miami, FL; New Haven, CT; Pittsburgh, PA; Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; Memphis, TN; Shreveport, LA; and Syracuse, NY) were selected as initial grantees of the expanded program.

These municipalities will be the first 12 of up to 50 cities to work to with the CFE Fund to launch free, high-quality one-on-one financial counseling for low-income residents, thanks to generous support from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of its American Cities Initiative. To learn more about FEC Public, visit www.fecpublic.org.

First Cohort of Bank On Fellows Launches

Posted on October 31, 2017December 3, 2018 by Katie Plat

This November 2017 press release announces the launch of the Bank On Fellowship program, supported by Wells Fargo.

The release announces the selection of five Bank On fellowships to advance local Bank On coalition operations and generate best practices on expanding access to safe and appropriate financial products and services. Fellowships were awarded to coalitions in Houston, TX (Bank On Houston); Mobile, AL (Bank On South Alabama); New Haven, CT (Bank On New Haven); Summit County, OH (Bank On Rubber City); and Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota, FL (Bank On Suncoast).

Visit the Bank On website to learn more.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: The FEC Counseling Model

Posted on October 4, 2017November 15, 2017 by Katie Plat

This brief summarizes findings about the FEC counseling process in the five FEC replication cities and is excerpted from the CFE Fund’s full report, An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service. This brief details the relationships between FEC counselors and clients, as well as other critical aspects of the model, such as the hiring process and counselor training.

The CFE Fund hosted a 15-minute webinar on this topic; watch the webinar here, and view the presentation here.

Read the full evaluation to learn more about the FEC model.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Banking Status

Posted on September 28, 2017November 15, 2017 by Katie Plat

This brief details banking outcomes in the five FEC replication cities, and is excerpted from the CFE Fund’s full report, An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service. This brief highlights how banking status mattered for FEC clients’ success. It also details unbanked clients and what they achieved during counseling, banking outcomes for all FEC clients, and why products matter for programs seeking to improve banking access.

The CFE Fund held a 15-minute webinar on this topic; watch the webinar here, and view the presentation here.

Read the full evaluation to learn more about the FEC model.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Client Achievement

Posted on September 20, 2017October 26, 2017 by Katie Plat

This brief details client achievement of financial outcomes in the five FEC replication cities, and is excerpted from the CFE Fund’s full report, An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service. The brief highlights who FEC clients are, including factors that made clients more or less likely to achieve outcomes, ranging from banking status to types of debt held.

The CFE Fund held a 15-minute webinar on this topic; watch the webinar here, and view the presentation here.

Read the full evaluation to learn more about the FEC model.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Partnerships and Integrations

Posted on September 13, 2017October 26, 2017 by Katie Plat

This brief details how the FEC model’s partnership and integration process worked in the five replication cities, and is excerpted from the CFE Fund’s full report, An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service. The brief highlights key strategies for developing partnerships and integrating counseling into other social services, both of which are vital components of the FEC model. Partnerships both facilitate the counseling delivery and ensure a flow of financial counseling clients referred through a diverse range of municipal and community partnerships.

The CFE Fund held a 15-minute webinar on this topic; watch the webinar here, and view the presentation here.

Read the full evaluation to learn more about the FEC model.

National Evaluation of Municipal Financial Counseling Model Shows Financial Counseling Works as Public Program

Posted on August 7, 2017October 30, 2017 by Katie Plat

This August 2017 press release highlights findings from a new three-year evaluation of the Financial Empowerment Center model. The evaluation draws on data from 22,000 clients and 57,000 counseling sessions across the first 5 city replication partners and shows that financial counseling worked as a public program in a variety of city contexts. City partners were Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA and San Antonio, TX. View or listen to the CFE Fund’s presentation highlighting key findings and lessons learned from the evaluation.

The CFE Fund held a series of webinars about the evaluation; click here for informational resources from these webinars.

Cities, counties, states, and community organizations who provide government-connected models of free financial counseling and coaching into a national professional learning community are invited to apply to join the FEC Affiliates Network. The CFE Fund will convene Affiliates both in-person and remotely to further partnerships, highlight best practices, and catalog lessons unique to integrating financial counseling and coaching within government programs. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to apply.

Executive Summary – An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service

Posted on August 7, 2017March 7, 2023 by Katie Plat

This Executive Summary highlights key findings from a three-year evaluation of the Financial Empowerment Center initiative’s replication in 5 cities (Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA and San Antonio, TX). Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. The evaluation draws on data from 22,000 clients who participated in 57,000 counseling sessions across these first 5 city replication partners, and provides additional evidence of the program’s success.

The CFE Fund held a series of webinars about the evaluation; click here for informational resources from these webinars.

Learn more about the FECPublic movement at www.fecpublic.org.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability As a Public Service

Posted on August 7, 2017March 7, 2023 by Katie Plat

This report is a three-year evaluation of the Financial Empowerment Center initiative’s replication in 5 cities (Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA and San Antonio, TX). Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. The evaluation draws on data from 22,000 clients who participated in 57,000 counseling sessions across these first 5 city replication partners, and provides additional evidence of the program’s success. For an executive summary of the report, click here.

The CFE Fund held a series of webinars about the evaluation; click here for informational resources from these webinars.

To learn more about the FEC Public movement, visit www.fecpublic.org.