Title:
Title
Contract with International Rescue Committee for Financial Empowerment Center Implementation
End
FileID
File ID: 2019-01495
Location
Location: Citywide
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Pass a Motion authorizing the City Manager or City Manager's designee to execute a Professional Services Agreement with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for the implementation of the Financial Empowerment Center Project for an amount not-to-exceed $300,000.
Contact: Amy Williamson, Financial Empowerment Center Manager, (916) 808-1046; Leslie Fritzsche, Economic Development Investment Manager, (916) 808-1540, Office of Innovation and Economic Development
Body
Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2- International Rescue Committee Mission and Description
3-Contract
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: In March 2019, the Council adopted a resolution approving a framework for the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) project pilot. This was the culmination of a planning phase conducted in 2018 with grant funds from the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund, a fund made possible through the Bloomberg Foundation. The CFE Fund's mission is to improve the financial stability of low- and moderate-income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government infrastructure. Through the FEC planning process, it was discovered that this tool could be complementary to the City's inclusive economic development efforts and can be key to supporting financially vulnerable residents and businesses.
At the core of the CFE Fund's FEC model is the integration of free, professionally trained financial counselors into other social services. Evaluations in other cities have shown that despite deep financial challenges, counseling clients have succeeded in reducing debt, increasing their savings, establishing and improving credit, and opening safe and affordable mainstream banking accounts.
The FEC model is a partnership bet...
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