Case Study: Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund achieves measurable debt reduction and increased savings with Bonterra Apricot

Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund - Customer Case Study

Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) is a national nonprofit that helps cities improve the financial stability of low- and moderate-income residents. With a three-year $16.2M Bloomberg Philanthropies grant to replicate New York City’s Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) model in five cities, CFE Fund faced rising demand for anti-poverty services, constrained public resources, and the need to integrate financial counseling into municipal programs to tackle persistent financial instability.

CFE Fund implemented the FEC model—free, one-on-one financial counseling embedded in local services—paired with Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) software to track client progress and partnerships with community providers. Since opening in March 2013 the centers have delivered more than 18,600 sessions, helped reduce over $5.3M in client debt and increase savings by roughly $730K, and the model has been expanded through technical-assistance grants to additional cities.

Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund

Anne Emig

Program Manager