New York City Urges Reform of the Community Reinvestment Act


The Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Weighs in on Consumer Provisions of Financial Overhaul Bill


The Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Comments on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Proposed Templates for Safe, Low-Cost Transactional and Basic Savings Accounts


The Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Comment on Amendment That Would Exempt Auto Dealers from New Lending Rules


Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Urges Congress to Pass Overdraft Protection Bills as Essential for U.S. Consumers


Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition Urges Creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)


The City of Newark Joins the Cities for Financial Empowerment to Expand Financial Literacy and Empowerment Initiatives


Cities Break Out the Piggy Bank


Bank on San Francisco


NYC CFE Forum Photo Gallery


Bank on Seattle-King County

ABOUT CFE COALITION   CFE Coalition Member Cities
	New York City
	In collaboration with Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) leads citywide initiatives to educate, empower and protect New Yorkers with low incomes. OFE leads targeted advocacy and enforcement efforts to protect consumers from predatory and unfair practices, while collaborating with financial education providers to build capacity and improve quality of financial education services throughout New York City. OFE spearheads large-scale public awareness campaigns, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition Campaign which distributed two million brochures in 12 languages and increased access to free and low-cost tax preparation assistance in the most recent tax season. OFE is also partnering with financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropies to pilot innovative programs to help consumers save and manage their money safely and smartly.
	Link to the Office of Financial Empowerment Open an NYC SafeStart Account Download NYC Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment: A Progress Report on the First Three Years, 2006–2009 (in PDF)
	San Francisco
	San Francisco’s financial empowerment work is spearheaded by the Office of the Treasurer, with support from the Mayor’s Office. Through the Working Families Credit program (WFC), the city funds a local match to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Originally designed to encourage all San Franciscans to maximize their tax refunds, the WFC has now been expanded to increase access to benefits and encourage savings (through split refunds and a savings bond option). San Francisco also created a groundbreaking program to bank the unbanked. The Bank on San Francisco initiative works with financial institutions to provide better access to the mainstream by changing bank policies and products, and supporting clients with financial education. Current work is focused on expanding this initiative to include alternatives to payday lending, a companion savings effort, and a strong financial education program.
	Link to the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector Link to Bank on San Francisco
	Chicago
	Chicago's financial empowerment initiative is spearheaded by the Office of the City Treasurer. Building on the office’s current efforts on community programs, the initiative is focused on three areas: Youth, Family/Community, and Small Business. Each of these areas focuses on building public-private partnerships around the areas of financial education, increasing opportunities to access financial services, and developing innovative asset-building products.
	Link to the Office of the City Treasurer
	Los Angeles
	“At this time of change and challenge nationwide, it is the responsibility of leaders across the United States to take bold, decisive action to ensure that our working families have the tools to weather today’s storm and prepare for a brighter tomorrow. Along with our partners in the CFE coalition, we will bring new ideas and a fresh vision to the table, and provide our families with the resources and assets to build a stable foundation for financial success long into the future.” - Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
	Link to the City of Los Angeles
	Miami
	Under the umbrella of ACCESS Miami (Assets, Capital, Community, Education, Savings and Success), the City of Miami focuses on combining city resources with those available in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. ACCESS Miami is comprised of four main elements: 1) access to existing benefits; 2) access to capital; 3) building wealth and accumulating assets; and 4) improving financial literacy. Services include free tax preparation, an online counselor-assisted platform called the Benefits Bank to simplify access to local, state and federal benefits, an Individual Development Account (IDA) program funded by city and federal dollars, and a small business micro-lending program. Current efforts are focused on a financial counseling program which will guide clients through the asset building cycle from establishing a bank account and basic savings, to eventual home ownership and retirement savings.
	Link to Access Miami
	Newark
	Newark’s financial empowerment mission is coordinated out of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. Working closely with Newark Now, a nonprofit founded by Cory Booker before he became mayor, the City works to economically empower residents by supporting initiatives that increase access to benefits, save residents precious dollars, help build assets, and provide financial education to the community at large. Initiatives include financial and legal counseling, a robust VITA program, and an IDA fund that matches deposited savings for eligible residents. The City of Newark also brings innovative financial empowerment opportunities to Newarkers through initiatives including a Bank On Newark campaign, which aims to remove obstacles that block un-banked Newarkers from opening bank accounts and to expose residents to mainstream financial relationships; and a Financial Helpline that brought volunteers with finance backgrounds into the City's 311 call center to answer residents’ personal finance questions for free.
	Link to the City of Newark
	Providence
	The City of Providence’s financial empowerment work is led by Mayor Cicilline’s new Pathways to Opportunity Office. The mission of the office is to increase mobility into the middle class by increasing opportunities for low-income families to build their incomes and financial assets while decreasing barriers to economic mobility. The office has five action areas: 1) helping low-wage workers to improve skills and obtain quality jobs; 2) connecting youth to jobs and college; 3) “making work pay” by increasing access to key work support programs; 4) reducing the “high cost of being poor” by creating affordable financial services for low-wage residents, increasing access to financial literacy, and reducing predatory lending and other high-cost practices; and 5) preventing poverty in future generations by providing universal access to high-quality early childhood programs, reducing teen pregnancy, and providing intensive support services to parenting teens.
	Link to the City of Providence Download the report "Pathways to Opportunity: Building Prosperity in Providence" (In PDF)
	San Antonio
	San Antonio’s financial empowerment programs are housed in the Department of Community Initiatives, which has responsibility for family economic success and promoting economic self-sufficiency. The city’s Family Economic Success program provides opportunities to increase assets through accessing tax credits, encouraging savings and promoting financial education. San Antonio’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is the second largest in the country and, in addition to providing free tax preparation, VITA sites link clients to local, state and federal benefits, savings products, suitable banking services, financial education and a city-funded IDA program. San Antonio has created some of the country’s most innovative programs, such as an alternative refund anticipation loan, a vehicle purchase program in partnership with Ford Motors, a foreclosure prevention program and an alternative payday loan product offered through a local credit union in partnership with Goodwill Industries.
	Link to the Department of Community Initiatives Link to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, San Antonio, Texas
	Savannah
	The City of Savannah manages its poverty reduction efforts through a powerful coalition called Step Up Savannah which combines the strengths of government, business and nonprofit agencies. Step Up Savannah was created to combat persistent poverty, and asset building was identified as a key factor in this effort. The Chatham Savannah Asset Development Coalition serves as the Step Up Action Team which coordinates the city’s VITA sites and leads its IDA efforts. Savannah’s tax preparation program has seen a 300% increase in the amount of EITC funds received by their clients; the city plans to add an Alternative Refund Anticipation Loan (ARAL) to their current available services this tax season. Step Up Savannah has been working closely with nine employers to bring tax assistance to their low-wage workers. Savannah has also created a banking task force to allow residents better access to the financial mainstream and currently has 12 banks and credit unions supporting these efforts.
	Link to Step Up Savannah
	Seattle
	The City of Seattle builds its financial empowerment efforts around the philosophy that there should be “no wrong door” for accessing the full range of available services. The city focuses on key building blocks, including access to multiple public benefits, access to appropriate financial services such as checking accounts, non-predatory loans, and financial education, and job training and advancement. In collaboration with partners, Seattle currently supports free tax preparation services, IDAs, access to benefits through the PeoplePoint system, credit repair services and home ownership opportunities. In 2008, the city plans to launch a “Bank on Seattle”-style initiative and support the launch of a credit union for low-income people. Seattle also started two innovative pilot programs designed to deliver the full range of services to two target groups: families transitioning from homelessness and families on the verge of self-sufficiency. The city is also launching an effort to work with employers to offer benefits and financial services to their lower-income employees. The Seattle/King County Asset Building Collaborative was created to develop and implement some of these strategies.
	Link to Seattle.gov Link to Bank on Seattle-King County Link to Seattle-King County Asset Building Collaborative