Katie Plat

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

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Katie Plat

This press release announced a $1 million grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to double 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 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.

CFE Coalition City Expert Topics: Launching an Office of Financial Empowerment

Posted on August 9, 2018December 3, 2018 by Katie Plat

Across the country, many local leaders have launched Offices of Financial Empowerment (OFEs) or similar municipal offices that serve as a home for financial empowerment programming efforts. This brief details why municipal leaders have invested in this critical work, outlines the work of OFEs, and highlights how a number of cities launched their OFEs.

Ten Cities Chosen to Receive Grant Award to Kickstart Municipal Financial Empowerment Efforts

Posted on August 6, 2018August 6, 2018 by Katie Plat

This press release announces the first cohort of CityStart cities, who will receive a planning grant and technical assistance to identify and plan for local municipal financial empowerment strategic priorities. The CFE Fund’s CityStart initiative offers mayors and their administrations a structured approach to identify financial empowerment goals, convene stakeholders for sustainable success, develop concrete strategies, and craft an actionable blueprint rooted in local priorities and opportunities. Selected cities are: Albuquerque, NM; Anchorage, AK: Dallas, TX; Durham, NC; El Paso, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Portland, OR; Rochester, NY; Saint Paul, MN; and Tulsa, OK.

Programmatic Banking Access Integration Best Practices

Posted on August 5, 2018February 1, 2019 by Katie Plat

Chapter 10 of the Bank On Coalition Playbook, Programmatic Banking Access Integration Best Practices, outlines the role that Bank On coalitions play in helping develop banking access program integrations.

The CFE Fund’s Bank On Coalition Playbook provides tools and resources that local coalitions can use to do their work more effectively. To learn more, read the full Bank On Coalition Playbook here.

Residents Reduce $100M in Debt Through FEC Counseling

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Katie Plat

This press release announces that over 82,000 people have reduced a total of $100 million in debt through municipal Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs).

The Financial Empowerment Center initiative provides high-quality, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. Learn more about the CFE Fund’s work to expand this model in 50 cities under its FEC Public platform.

Benefits of Bank On National Account Standard Certification: Handout

Posted on May 7, 2018February 1, 2019 by Katie Plat

Chapter 9 of the Bank On Coalition Playbook, Financial Institution Benefits of Bank On National Account Certification, is a handout to be shared with financial institution partners that highlights the key benefits of offering an account certified as meeting Bank On National Account Standards.

Read the full Bank On Coalition Playbook here, and download the print version of this handout here.

Citi Foundation Supports Summer Jobs Connect with $5 Million

Posted on April 30, 2018June 10, 2019 by Katie Plat

This press release announces the Citi Foundation’s generous contribution of $5 million in funding to the CFE Fund to provide more than 2,400 low-income youth with summer jobs and access to financial education as part of Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) in 2018.

Summer Jobs Connect enhances municipally-led summer youth employment programs by integrating structural linkages to safe and appropriate banking products, services, and education. Since launching in 2014, the Citi Foundation has invested over $23 million in this initiative, which has provided nearly 11,000 low-income youth with summer work experience, access to financial education, and appropriate financial services; SJC city partners have built these financial empowerment strategies into the infrastructure of their Summer Youth Employment Programs.

CFE Fund Comment Letters to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Posted on April 25, 2018May 10, 2018 by Katie Plat

The CFE Fund submitted Comment Letters to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to their request for public comment. Topics include: Civil Investigative Demands and Associated Processes, Rules of Practice for Adjudication Proceedings, Enforcement Processes, Supervision Programs, External Engagements, Public Reporting Practices of Consumer Complaint Information, Rulemaking Processes, Adopted Regulations and New Rulemaking Authorities, Inherited Regulations and Inherited Rulemaking Authorities, Guidance and Implementation Support, Financial Education Programs, and Consumer Complaint Handling Processes.

These letters focused on local governments’ experiences with consumer financial instability, and both individual’s and businesses’ need for a fair and dependable consumer financial marketplace. The CFE Fund’s letters also emphasized governments’ interest in preserving and protecting social service gains from predatory business practices that would strip them away, and offered to assist current leadership to help achieve these critical priorities.