Author: Katie Plat

The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 24

Posted on by Katie Plat

This issue, Issue 24, provides updates on the CFE Fund’s and partner cities’ financial empowerment efforts, including an announcement of a new partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies to help grow the municipal financial empowerment field. 

The CFE Fund announced a $19 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to: expand FEC financial counseling through the launch of FEC Academy; support the creation of a new pilot to embed FEC financial counseling into eviction prevention services; build out the Financial Navigators initiative; and invest in a racial-equity focused CityStart initiative. Additionally, this issue includes updates on the 2021 Bank On National Conference which took place in mid-November, with nearly 500 partners in attendance from across the country. This issue also features a guest column from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, highlighting the City’s Summer Jobs Connect initiative work providing summer jobs and financial education for Detroit youth.

 

 

The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 23

Posted on by Katie Plat

This issue, Issue 23, provides updates on the CFE Fund’s and partner cities’ financial empowerment efforts, including those related to COVID-19 recovery. 

In advance of the newly expanded federal Child Tax Credit monthly payments, the CFE Fund and Bank On coalitions are highlighting the availability of safe and affordable Bank On certified accounts; the CFE Fund recently announced that there are over 100 accounts certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Additionally, the Summer Jobs Connect initiative has launched its eighth summer, and the CFE Fund recently selected a new cohort of Financial Empowerment Center partners.  This issue also features a guest column from Robin McKinney and Sara Johnson, from CASH Campaign of Maryland, highlighting their work with the Maryland Department of Labor to offer Bank On certified accounts for residents receiving unemployment payments.

CFE Fund Announces More Than 100 Bank On Certified Accounts

Posted on by Katie Plat

In this press release, the CFE Fund announced that there are now more than 100 bank and credit union accounts nationally certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Banks and credit unions offering certified accounts comprise over 50% of the U.S. deposit market share, and 40% of all US bank branches offer a certified account; nearly two million Bank On certified accounts were opened in 2019. With the certification of BMO Harris’ Smart Money™ Account, BOM Bank’s EZ Checking account, Rio Grande Credit Union’s Fresh Start Checking, US Eagle FCU’s Flex Checking account, and Wintrust Community Banks’ Money Smart Checking account, there are now 108 accounts certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards. These accounts can expand access to safe and appropriate transactional accounts to the almost 36 million people outside of the mainstream financial system, and can be used to receive and manage the federal Child Tax Credit and other emergency payments.

To learn more about Bank On, visit www.cfefund.org/bankon.

CFE Fund and Wells Fargo Announce Third Cohort of Bank On Fellowship

Posted on by Katie Plat

This press release announced a $1 million grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to increase the size of the Bank On Fellowship Program, which funds a full-time Bank On coalition leader for two years to focus solely on improving banking access for residents. The CFE Fund, with support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, welcomes six Bank On coalitions (Bank On Florida; Bank On Martinsville-Henry; Bank On Pierce County; Bank On Pueblo County; Bank On Rochester; and Bank On Tulsa) to the third cohort of the Bank On Fellowship. The Bank On Fellowship program is the first national initiative of its kind focused on building a multi-city network of Bank On program coordinators, equipping them with the training, tools, and resources to make significant advancements in local banking access efforts and at the same time generating best practices for other coalitions around the country.

To learn more about the Bank On Fellowship program, visit www.cfefund.org/bankon

Five New Cities Chosen to Develop Free Financial Counseling

Posted on by Katie Plat

In this March 2021 press release, the CFE Fund, with support from seed funder Bloomberg Philanthropies, as well as Capital One, the Citi Foundation, The JPB Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and the Wells Fargo Foundation, welcomes five new local governments (Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Jackson, TN; Louisville, KY; and Pueblo, CO) to the newest FEC Planning cohort after a competitive application process. They join 30 other local governments that have already launched, or are working to launch, FEC services that have already served 116,000 clients, helping them to reduce $160 million in debt and build $26 million in savings. 

CFE Fund Comment Letter on Community Reinvestment Act Modernization

Posted on by Katie Plat

The CFE Fund recently submitted a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) modernization. Citing experiences from the Bank On movement, as well as the FECPublic initiative, the CFE Fund recommended that the CRA examination process should credit financial institutions’ provision of safe and affordable banking accounts and support for meaningful financial inclusion efforts.

The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 22

Posted on by Katie Plat

This issue, Issue 22, provides updates on CFE Fund’s and partner cities’ COVID-19 response efforts. 

Since the pandemic began, 31 cities and counties have launched Financial Navigators initiatives to provide phone-based financial triage and resource referrals; 35 municipal Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) partners are offering, or are working to launch, one-on-one financial counseling through FEC programs; and more than 80 Bank On coalitions are working to connect their communities to safe and affordable banking products so they can safely receive and use stimulus payments, unemployment benefits, wages, and more. This issue also features a guest column from Nick Gradisar, the Mayor of Pueblo, CO, highlighting the key role the CityStart and Financial Navigators initiatives have had in Pueblo’s emergency response.

Bank On National Account Standards (2021-2022)

Posted on by Katie Plat

The updated Bank On National Account Standards identify critical product features for bank or credit union accounts appropriate to those currently outside of the mainstream banking system. Core account features include low costs, no overdraft fees, robust transaction capabilities such as a debit or prepaid card, and online bill pay. Notable changes in the 2021-2022 Standards include disallowing activation and early closure fees while promoting greater access to out-of-network ATMs.

The Supervitamin Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 21

Posted on by Katie Plat

This issue, Issue 21, details how the CFE Fund and our city partners continued to respond to COVID-19. Financial Empowerment Center initiative partners received CFE Fund support to meet increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the CFE Fund continued building out its newest program, the Financial Navigator initiative, to help cities provide remote financial triage and referrals; and the CFE Fund released the 2021-2022 Bank On National Account Standards. In addition, the CFE Fund announced the new cohort of Consumer Financial Protection Initiative grantees, who will focus first on a COVID-19 consumer awareness campaign and then plan for broader consumer financial protection capabilities within the city. This issue also features a guest column from the American Bankers Association (ABA) CEO and President, Rob Nichols, highlighting a recent partnership encouraging ABA partner banks across the country to offer Bank On certified accounts.  

Video: Summer Jobs Connect – COVID-19 Didn’t Stop SYEPs

Posted on by Katie Plat

Each year, over 110,000 young people work summer jobs and are supported through financial education, banking access, and other financial empowerment resources as part of the CFE Fund’s national Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) initiative, supported by the Citi Foundation. 

This video details how through pivoting to remote programming, cities across the US were able to adapt to COVID-19 and incorporate financial literacy programs and safe, affordable banking access into their SYEPs through Summer Jobs Connect. In addition, SYEPs also supported discussions around racial equality amongst youth and demonstrated how youth can serve their community in crisis times.