November 7, 2011

Thirty-one cities throughout the country held financial planning events during the month of October, where thousands of individuals received “no'strings-attached” pro bono financial advice. These educational clinics were part of the Financial Planning Days (FPD) initiative, organized by a consortium of associations including Washington (DC)-based Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the Denver-based Financial Planning Association, the Atlanta-based Foundation for Financial Planning, and The United States Conference of Mayors.

The FPD initiative is a core part of the Conference of Mayors’ National DollarWI$E Campaign, an effort to support mayors in their push to promote greater financial literacy and planning among their residents. During the Financial Planning Days, certified financial planners volunteer their services by offering one-on-one, free financial advice on topics ranging from retirement, saving for college, budgeting, and insurance.

In addition to the private counseling sessions, Financial Planning Days also offered workshops on how to maintain good credit, the ins and outs of social security, and managing your family’s finances. The volunteer financial planners are not allowed to pass out business cards or advertise their services during or after the events to attendees.

Conference of Mayors Vice President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter was on hand to kick-off one of the first events held in Philadelphia, where about 200 attendees were able to talk one-on-one to 50 volunteer certified financial planners, and/or to attend classroom'style educational workshops. The event was held at the Benjamin Franklin High School with the support of the local NBC affiliate, 10 News.

In Newark, Mayor Cory Booker arrived shortly after things got underway and made the rounds, greeting attendees and the volunteer financial planners and others who were staffing the event. Booker and his staff worked closely with the Financial Planning Association of New Jersey (FPA of NJ) and other local partners and volunteers to bring this event to Newark residents. The FPA of NJ found the city to be a vital partner in promoting the event. “Their access to media outlets within the city was crucial to us,” explained Regional FPA Chapter President Tom Duffy . “Mayor Booker was Tweeting, using his Facebook account, all to great effect to get the message out. … We never would have been able to do that.”

In Elizabeth (NJ), Financial Planning Day was held at the Union County College. Mayor J. Christian Bollwage kicked off the event. This was the second year the city has been involved in the Financial Planning Day campaign. Those who attended stated that the day was very informative and worthwhile.

In Baltimore, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and about 140 attendees braved the ice and snow to attend the FPD. As in Philadelphia, Newark and DC, this was held at a local high school. In kicking off the event, Rawlings-Blake stated, “In this challenging economy, managing our personal and household finances is more important than ever. It’s important—no matter what our current situation—that we all look ahead and plan for the future. Whatever your standard of living was before the economic downturn, right about now, we are all forced to re-learn lessons about saving, budgeting, and managing debt. That’s why today’s Financial Planning Day is so important…”

As in many other cities, debt counselors were available to talk with the more than 100 people in attendance at the Washington (DC) Financial Planning Day. Mayor Vincent Gray, along with Bank on D.C., worked together with the FPA of the National Capital Area to host the metro event.

South Florida held a regional event at the local high school in Hollywood Florida, with a satellite event in Miami, held at the Little Haiti Cultural Arts Center. Although Miami held a similar event last year, this was the first one at the Cultural Arts Center. According to Miami Special Projects Administrator William Porro, “We can’t allow our constituents to lose hope even in these financially distressed times.” The South Florida event was attended by Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper and newly elected North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado attended the Miami satellite event.

Miami also utilized the city’s 311 “Advice Line,” where residents could call into the line to ask questions of a certified financial planner.

The Virginia Beach event was held at the Convention Center, kicked off by Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke. In her address, Duke stated, “There is in fact a direct relationship between household financial stability and the stability of the U.S. economy. As building blocks of the economy, the financial health of each household contributes to the financial health of the country as a whole.” Virginia Beach Mayor William Sessoms, Jr. welcomed the attendees via video.

Seven events were held in California throughout October, where attendance averaged between 150 to 300 people. In San Francisco, Mayor Edwin Lee hosted 300 participants at the University of California/Hastings Law Center. San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment Manager Marco Chavarin worked closely with the San Francisco City Treasurer Jose Cisneros and Ralph Latza, of the Financial Planning Association, to organize the event. “When you offer San Franciscans, or anyone really, the opportunity to have a healthy financial product, and then couple that with financial education, financial counseling, coaching and planning as we are doing today, they are going to make better informed decisions and therefore have a greater impact on the economy,” Chavarin noted.

Oakland held its third annual financial planning day in city hall, where Mayor Jean Quan kicked off the event. As in San Francisco, 300 people attended. Free financial advice workshops are not new to Oakland. In fact, FPD itself is modeled in large part after local certified financial planner Frank Pare’s financial planning clinics, which he started organizing in 2008. “There are a lot of smart people out there who, at the end of the day, do not want to spend their time trying to understand the difference between a mutual fund and an annuity,” said Pare. “It’s plain and simple. Studies have shown people spend more time planning their vacation than they do retirement.”

Conference of Mayors President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders hosted 150 participants each. The Los Angeles event, held at Magnolia Place that is a family support center, is in its second year. The San Diego event, held at the Jacobs Community Center, is in its first year.

Three areas in California hosted regional FPD: Orange County’s was held at Brandman University/Irvine Campus; Silicon Valley’s was held at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library and the Sacramento Regional event, hosted by West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, was held at West Sacramento City Hall.

In the Pacific Northwest, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy hosted the FPD at the local high school. Portland Mayor Sam Adams hosted their event at the municipal building, while Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn hosted the event at the local elementary school.

Eight cities in the Midwest also participated. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Twin Cities/Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak all held events in downtown libraries.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle hosted their Financial Planning Days on college and university campuses, along with Indianapolis Mayor Gregory Ballard, where First Lady Winnie Ballard coordinated with FPA of Indiana to host the event at the University of Indiana. Green Bay Mayor James Schmitt kicked off their event at a community center, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed hosted theirs at the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency.

In Texas, Houston Mayor Annise Parker held an event at the Barry Center, a multi-use facility and was part of a larger Cy-Fair Family Fest. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro’s office worked with the FPA of San Antonio to hold their event at a charter school.

Conference of Mayors Second Vice President Mesa Mayor Scott Smith kicked off the FPD event that was held at the city library, and issued a proclamation declaring October 22 as Financial Planning Day. In Las Vegas, Mayor Carolyn Goodman welcomed attendees to the event held at a senior center. And in Reno, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini issued a proclamation declaring October 1 as Financial Planning Day.

Bank on Denver worked closely with the FPA of Colorado and Mayor Guillermo (Bill) Vidalto’s office to host the Denver FPD at the local high school. The event attracted over 100 families. Katherine O’Connor from Bank on Denver, who worked with the local FPA to plan the event, said that most every family stopped to say how good the event was.

Mayors interested in hosting a 2012 Financial Planning Day in their city in conjunction with their local Financial Planning Association chapter, may contact The U.S. Conference of Mayors DollarWI$E Campaign at 202-293-7330.