By Dustin Tyler Joyce
January 31, 2011

The United States Conference of Mayors DollarWI$E campaign awarded its annual Innovation Grants for financial literacy to Cincinnati (OH) and Hartford (CT). Five additional grants were awarded to Baltimore (MD), Columbus (OH), Fresno (CA), Phoenix (AZ), and Seattle (WA) through the DollarWI$E Summer Youth Campaign. The awards were presented to the mayors of the recipient cities during the Thursday morning plenary session of the 79th Winter Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington (DC) on January 20.

Cincinnati and Hartford each received a $20,000 DollarWI$E Innovation Grant to expand their local programs that further the cause of financial literacy and promote wise personal money management. The two recipients were chosen from among ten finalists. The other finalists for the grants were Asheville (NC), Boston (MA), Charleston (SC), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Norwalk (CT), Warren (OH), and Washington (DC).

"I applaud these mayors and all others involved in financial education for the role model they provide," said Conference of Mayors President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz. "We are seeing now more than ever the impact that financial education can have on not just individual but community and national economic prosperity."

Both grants programs are underwritten by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the founding sponsor of DollarWI$E. The United States Conference of Mayors and Bank of America recently announced a continuation of their partnership; Bank of America's new grant of $450,000 will extend the bank's sponsorship of DollarWI$E and these two grant programs through 2012. "We are pleased the USCM and its members share in the belief that a strong foundation in financial literacy basics is a critical skill for future economic success," said Kerry Sullivan, president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation. "By supporting the expansion of emerging financial education initiatives, we are working to bring long-term financial stability to our nation's families."

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will use the grant to incorporate financial education into his Summer Youth Job Fair, which connects over 5,000 youth and young adults to over 100 employers in the Cincinnati area. Mallory's initiative will also help these youth establish bank accounts through Bank On Greater Cincinnati, and young jobseekers will be provided one-on-one financial planning advice from certified financial planners®.

"The DollarWI$E Innovation Grant will help connect existing initiatives like our job fair and summer employment program to our financial education programs," Mallory said. "Financial literacy is an essential part of any student's education. As we are teaching students the value of work, we also need to teach them the value of responsible money management."

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra's initiative will use the funds to pilot a comprehensive financial education program at Burr Elementary Community School for students and parents. The Burr School program will include one-on-one counseling, with access to individual development accounts, volunteer budget coaching, and social networking. The program will then be expanded citywide.

"We are extremely grateful to the The U.S. Conference of Mayors, to Bank of America and the DollarWI$E program for this grant," Segarra stated as he accepted his city's award. "As you know—or may not know—Hartford is one of the top five poorest cities. This grant will be utilized in one of the poorest neighborhoods in our city and the effects of it will have an impact not only on the participants but—coming from a very poor family myself, when we got the financial planning advice from neighbors—I'm sure that that advice will trickle down to many others in the community. It's a great program and we look forward to implementing it."

The DollarWI$E Summer Youth Campaign grants, for $4,000 each, will assist the five recipient cities in incorporating financial education into their summer youth employment programs. The cities' plans for using the awards vary from expanding current financial literacy efforts and providing additional hours of financial education classes to providing financial and other incentives for participants to save a portion of their summer earnings.

• Baltimore will provide "train-the-trainer" training for supervisors at participants' worksites.

• Columbus will utilize volunteer college students to teach the FDIC's Money Smart for Young Adults curriculum to high'school-age Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) participants.

• Fresno will expand the work of its Bank on Fresno initiative to help SYEP youth open bank accounts of their own.

• Phoenix will expand their financial education offerings for SYEP participants while also reaching out to their parents.

• Seattle will reach 100 low-income, at-risk youth enrolled in Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council (WDC) youth programs

Established in 2005, the DollarWI$E Innovation Grants award cities that participate in DollarWI$E and demonstrate outstanding and innovative ongoing financial literacy programs for their citizens. The next application period for the Innovation Grants is expected to open in fall 2011, with grants awarded at the Conference of Mayors 80th Winter Meeting in January 2012.

The DollarWI$E Summer Youth Campaign (SYC) was launched in 2009. Its goal is to make financial education an integral component of every SYEP job throughout the country. The SYC grants were first awarded in 2010. The application period for the Summer Youth Campaign 2012 grants is expected to take place in December 2011 and January 2012.

DollarWI$E and the Innovation Grants grew out of a desire of members of the Conference of Mayors' Council for the New American City (CNAC) to help consumers learn more about financial issues and to empower them to become investors in their communities, especially through homeownership. CNAC is a coalition of nonprofit groups, corporations, and businesses that share a common goal of increasing investment in American cities.