The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) is a nonprofit that provides financial literacy and education services to low-income individuals. The CFE Fund was founded by former New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg and works with municipal governments across the United States to expand banking access, provide consumer protection, and offer financial education and counselling. ^{1 2 3}

CFE Fund provides grants directly to city governments as well as nonprofits that work with city governments. The organization receives funding from JP Morgan Chase, Discover Bank, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. ^{1 4}

History and Activities

The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund began in 2008 as a pilot program of New York City called the Financial Empowerment Center under the leadership of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I, later D). The organization provided financial planning services and aid in accessing public benefits to low-income New Yorkers. In 2012, CFE Fund officially launched at the New York Stock Exchange and was dedicated to helping mayors develop and launch financial empowerment strategies. This includes a focus on helping low-income individuals build assets, gain banking access, access consumer financial protections, and receive financial education and counseling. ^{1 2 3}

In 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies (also known as the Bloomberg Family Foundation) launched similar institutions in five more cities with a $16.2 million grant called the Living Cities Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. As of March 2025, the organization was called the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund and had granted more than $69 million to city governments and organizations that work with city governments. ²

Beginning in 2017, the CFE Fund began offering consumer protection services in addition to financial literacy education. This included helping Detroit identify what has been described as “predatory land contracts” and helping Philadelphia implement a new ordinance targeting businesses it claims deceive city residents. ¹

The CFE Fund also supports Bank On, which provides bank accounts to residents in 60 cities. Through ON Bank, the CFE Fund offers the Bank On Capacity Grant to help expand banking access. ^{1 5}

The CFE Fund provides support for financial services projects in nearly every state as well as in the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. ⁶

The CFE Fund also supports the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition (CFE Coalition), which includes 19 member cities devoted to creating and implementing innovative financial empowerment initiatives. The CFE Coalition was founded by then-New York Mayor Bloomberg and then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D). Coalition members include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Hawai’i County, Hawai’i; Jackson, Tennessee; Lansing, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; New York, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;  Rochester, New York; Sacramento, California; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco, California, Shreveport, Louisiana; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. ⁷

Leadership

The president and chief executive officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund is John Mintz. Mintz also chairs the CFE Fund’s coalition of city government, the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition. Previously, Mintz was the commissioner of the New York Department of Consumer Affairs under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I, later D). ^{8 2}

The chief operating officer of the CFE Fund is Amelia Erwitt. Erwitt was previously the associate commissioner and executive director of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment. ²

Financials

According to tax filings, in 2023, the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund reported $7,628,594 in revenue, $10,398,084 in expenses, and $27,222,487 in assets. Of its expenses, the organization reported spending $681,758 on a summer employment program, $700,340 on aiding local coalitions with banking, $2,913,661 on “financial empowerment centers” to provide free financial counseling, and $4,406,067 on the CFE coalition of 20 cities working on financial empowerment. ⁴

In 2022, the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund gave dozens of grants to municipal governments and nonprofits, including: $25,000 to the city of Charleston; $25,000 to the Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin; $25,000 to United Way of Greater St. Louis; $27,000 to the city of Cleveland; $75,000 to the Community Foundation of New Jersey; $75,000 to the city of Sacramento; $100,000 to the city of Jackson, Tennessee; $100,000 to the city of Pueblo, Colorado; $100,000 to the city of Tulsa; $130,000 to the Economic Awareness Council; and $70,000 to Goodwill Industries of North Florida. ⁴

The CFE Fund reportedly receives funding from JP Morgan Chase, Discover Bank, and private philanthropy. The CFE Fund has also reportedly previously received funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Additionally, the CFE Fund received $3 million from the Principal Foundation. ¹

The CFE Fund also reports that it receives funding from American Express, Bank of America, CapitalOne, Citi Bank, the Citi Foundation, Deutsche Bank, the Gill Foundation, The JPB Foundation, the NYSE Euronext Foundation, the Organization of American States, the TD Charitable Foundation, US Bank, Visa, and Wells Fargo. ⁵

1. Wolfe, Dawn. “ How One Fund Is Backing Consumer Financial Protection at the Local Level.” Inside Philanthropy. February 24, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/how-one-fund-is-backing-consumer-financial-protection-at-the-local-level.
2. “About Us.” CFE Fund. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://cfefund.org/about/.
3. “Approach.” CFE Fund. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://cfefund.org/approach/.
4. Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2023.
5. “Funding.” CFE Fund. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://cfefund.org/funding/.
6. “Projects.” CFE Fund. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://cfefund.org/projects/.
7. “CFE Coalition.” CFE Fund. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://cfefund.org/coalition/.
8. ^[1] Wolfe, Dawn. “ How One Fund Is Backing Consumer Financial Protection at the Local Level.” Inside Philanthropy. February 24, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/how-one-fund-is-backing-consumer-financial-protection-at-the-local-level.