By Dustin Tyler Joyce
September 11, 2006

Dollar Wi$e Member Cities

Dozens of cities across the country will celebrate Dollar Wi$e Week, September 25-30. Dollar Wi$e Week is sponsored by the Mayors’ National Dollar Wi$e Campaign, the official financial literacy effort of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Council for the New American City.

Dollar Wi$e encourages mayors and city staffs to analyze local financial education needs and establish partnerships with community organizations that promote financial literacy. Local governments, nonprofits, financial institutions, businesses, faith-based groups and other organizations work together to organize and sponsor financial education programs in their communities. These efforts take various forms, including seminars and workshops, efforts helping families claim the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, and homebuyer assistance programs.

Dollar Wi$e Week is an annual event that allows cities to recognize and promote their local financial education campaigns. Throughout the week, communities plan and participate in events that serve as the starting point for an ongoing commitment to financial education.

The first step to participating in Dollar Wi$e Week and in the ongoing Dollar Wi$e Campaign is to register. Mayors or their staff members can do this online at www.dollarwiseonline.org.

Next, mayors and city governments issue a mayoral proclamation declaring the last week of September as Dollar Wi$e Week in their cities. A sample proclamation is available to download from the Dollar Wi$e website. Mayors then send an original copy of the proclamation to the Dollar Wi$e office at the U.S. Conference of Mayors headquarters in Washington (DC).

Finally, cities and their community partners organize events during Dollar Wi$e Week that promote financial literacy and their local campaigns. Some cities hold a press conference announcing their mayoral proclamations and their participation in the Dollar Wi$e Campaign. Others hold a community forum or breakfast to discuss local financial literacy needs, while yet others hold a class, workshop, seminar, or other community event to which city staff, the media, and the public are invited.

The theme of this year’s Dollar Wi$e Week is “Recognizing Community Partners in Financial Education.” In response to this theme, the Conference of Mayors is encouraging cities to recognize the community organizations that have contributed to their local financial literacy efforts. The Dollar Wi$e Campaign is providing free, customizable certificates of recognition to member cities, along with several other promotional items.

In addition to providing support and free promotional materials for Dollar Wi$e Week, cities participating in Dollar Wi$e are eligible to receive several other types of material and financial support. The campaign produces a wide array of high-quality publications giving instructions for organizing local campaigns and listing free or low-cost curriculum materials provided by national Dollar Wi$e partners and sponsors. Dollar Wi$e also connects local campaigns to curriculum materials and national organizations that promote financial literacy.

The Dollar Wi$e Campaign also administers a Capacity Grants Program. Through the sponsorship of Countrywide Financial Corporation, Dollar Wi$e awards several grants each year ranging from $15,000 to $25,000. This funding supports expanding local efforts in communities that have made a commitment to innovative financial literacy programs. The most recent recipients were announced at the Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Las Vegas in June and include Bowling Green (KY), Detroit (MI), and Quincy (IL).

For more information about the Dollar Wi$e Campaign and Dollar Wi$e Week, contact Dustin Tyler Joyce at 202-861-6759 or send e-mail to djoyce@usmayors.org, or visit www.dollarwiseonline.org.