Grants of $75,000 and technical assistance to USA city and county governments to address racial wealth equity and build individual and community financial stability. Preference will be given to applications from cities and counties with significant Black populations and to Black-majority city and county partners.

The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund), is requesting applications from local governments looking to develop a municipal financial empowerment blueprint, outlining strategies for financial empowerment programs and policies based on stakeholder and community input and with a focus on racial wealth equity. The CFE Fund will work closely with the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, an ambitious nationwide program that seeks to accelerate intergenerational Black wealth and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities, and other partners to identify strategies to address the racial wealth and assets inequities, facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer, and build resident, family, and community financial stability.

With support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, in this equity-focused iteration of CityStart, the CFE Fund will look to work with Black-majority city and county partners, as well as cities and counties with significant Black populations, to address the financial empowerment needs of residents and the opportunities to meet those needs, prioritizing the financial stability needs of Black residents. Selected partners will identify strategies to launch and increase access to financial stability programs, identify the intersecting issues leading to disparities and barriers to financial empowerment, and explore investments to further financial stability work.

Components of the engagement include:

• CityStart University: Grantees will participate in a series of learning community events, facilitated by the CFE Fund,at the start of the engagement.
• Financial Empowerment and Racial Wealth Equity Landscape Analysis: The CFE Fund will work with each locality to develop a comprehensive landscape analysis, which includes identifying key stakeholders, understanding the government structure and Administration goals, assessing financial empowerment issues both overall and for Black residents, and reviewing related data.
• Financial Empowerment Strategies & Blueprint: Based on findings from the landscape analysis and stakeholder engagement phase, each locality will work with the CFE Fund on developing a municipal financial empowerment blueprint focused on key local needs and priorities.
• Learning Community: Local government grantees will participate in learning community activities to share best practices and lessons learned with fellow grantees.