The City of Santa Fe announced today that it has been accepted as a Planning Grantee in the national Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s (CFE Fund’s) FEC Academy, the entry point for launching a Santa Fe Financial Empowerment Center (FEC).

Over 30 municipal Financial Empowerment Centers across the country offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling and coaching as a free public service to residents. FEC Academy is a fifteen-month process for the City to work toward launching a Financial Empowerment Center initiative. 

As an accepted planning grantee, the city will receive a $20,000 planning grant and intensive CFE Fund technical assistance to launch the FEC initiative.

When the City completes the Academy, it can apply for up to $150,000 in matching funds from the CFE Fund to implement the program.

“This announcement marks another important opportunity for us to make life better for low and moderate-income Santa Feans,” Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to give our residents tools and support to manage their money and open up new paths to prosperity and opportunity.”

Once launched, professionally trained FEC counselors will help individuals and families with low and moderate incomes manage their finances, pay down debt, increase savings, establish and build credit, and access safe and affordable mainstream banking products.

The core of the FEC model is the integration of counseling into other social services, such as housing and foreclosure prevention, workforce development, reentry from the criminal justice system, benefits access, domestic violence prevention services, and more. Seed funder Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and other generous partners support the CFE Fund’s FEC movement. 

“The CFE Fund is thrilled to welcome Mayor Alan Webber and the City of Santa Fe to FEC Academy and help them start the work towards launching free, high-quality financial counseling as a new public service,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “As dozens of cities and counties across the country have already shown, professional one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service can be transformative for residents’ financial stability and for their communities.”

• The FEC and Santa Fe Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) will offer no-cost, one-on-one, professional financial counseling as a public service to all residents. FEC Counseling is always client-led and complements existing social services and financial programs.
• Counselors at the FECs help clients understand their financial goals and challenges, prioritize what to work on, and create customized work plans. Work plans are individualized and created to allow clients to reach achievable financial goals.
• FEC counseling is most effective over multiple sessions. These sessions can help clients achieve larger personal finance goals, such as preparing for homeownership in Santa Fe.