Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund
The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 44 Wall Street, Suite 1050 in New York, NY. Founded in 2012 and launched at the New York Stock Exchange in April of that year, the organization operates as a public charity with a staff of approximately 30-35 employees.
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing
Total Assets
$23.6M
-13.1% YoY
Annual Giving
$4.5M
+62.3% YoY
Grant Count
99
+98.0% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$46K
-18.0% YoY
Mission & Focus Areas
The CFE Fund's mission is to leverage municipal engagement to improve the financial stability of low and moderate-income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government infrastructure. The organization works with mayoral administrations to develop, launch, replicate, and test innovative financial empowerment programs and policies.
The Fund's primary program areas include:
Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) — Municipal financial empowerment centers offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. The model, first piloted in New York City, is now active in 35 cities and counties. These centers have helped nearly 190,000 clients reduce debt by over $315 million and increase savings by over $61 million. The CFE Fund provides guidance through its FEC Academy, which helps cities and counties plan and launch the model locally. The organization is also piloting enhancements to the FEC model, including connections to small business and entrepreneurship services and estate planning.
Emergency Financial Empowerment — Programs addressing financial needs during natural disasters, public health crises, and other local emergencies.
Youth Financial Education — Embedding financial education and banking access into summer youth employment programs.
Account Opening Initiatives — Pilots designed to leverage existing program payment touchpoints to support account opening for program participants.
Grantmaking
The CFE Fund provides funding and technical assistance to municipalities. Based on recent filings, typical grant awards range from $7,500 to $560,000. The organization's total giving was reported at $4,114,234 in its most recent filing.
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Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The CFE Fund works nationally with municipalities across the United States. Documented partner locations include New York, Texas, and South Carolina. New York City has been a partner since 2008 and was a founding co-chair of the CFE Coalition. The organization maintains an active network of 35 cities and counties implementing Financial Empowerment Centers.
Grant Distribution by State
States
Cities
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
As of 2024:
- Total Assets: $23,644,509
- Total Revenues: $4,006,798
- Total Expenses: $12,252,822
- Total Giving: $4,114,234
As of 2023:
- Total Assets: $27.2M
- Total Revenues: $7.63M
- Total Expenses: $10.4M
- Total Liabilities: $5.04M
The organization received a $1 million grant in November 2023, led by the Wells Fargo Foundation.
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $23,644,509 | $27,222,487 | $29,695,810 |
| Revenue | $4,006,798 | $7,628,594 | $27,257,857 |
| Expenses | $12,252,822 | $10,398,984 | $11,253,754 |
| Qualifying Distributions | — | — | — |
| Net Investment Income | $663,658 | $420,253 | $37,330 |
| Distributable Amount | — | — | — |
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2024
Grant Size Distribution
250 grants across all recorded years
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
No grants recorded for .
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
José Cisneros, Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco, serves as a founding co-chair of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition. Cisneros has championed financial empowerment initiatives including the award-winning Kindergarten to College and Bank On San Francisco programs, and serves as Vice Chair on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
From 2024 filing
| Name | Title | Hours | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| JONATHAN MINTZ | PRESIDENT AND CEO | 40 | $414,860 |
| KAREN FREEMAN-WILSON | BOARD CHAIR | 1 | — |
| MICHAEL DUBIN | TREASURER | 1 | — |
| CATHLEEN MAHON | SECRETARY | 1 | — |
| NAOMI GENDLER CAMPER | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | — |
| JOSE CISNEROS | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | — |
| LATIA CURRY HARRISON | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | — |
| LEIGH PHILLIPS | BOARD MEMBER | 1 | — |
| AMELIA ERWITT | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | 40 | $237,656 |
| LISA NICOLLE GRIST | CHIEF RESEARCH, EVALUATION & FINANCE | 40 | $182,668 |
| TAMARA LINDSAY | CHIEF - STRATEGY | 40 | $176,030 |
| KAITLIN PLAT | SENIOR DIRECTOR | 40 | $156,866 |
| DAVID ROTHSTEIN | SENIOR PRINCIPAL | 40 | $153,351 |
| KANT DESAI | SENIOR PRINCIPAL | 40 | $129,974 |
| FERNANDA VILLASENOR | SENIOR PRINCIPAL | 40 | $114,930 |
| ELISA LOPEZ | SENIOR DIRECTOR | 40 | $103,588 |
Recent News & Activity
Recent developments and announcements
The CFE Fund has expanded its network of municipal partners implementing financial empowerment initiatives. Multiple cities have been selected to participate in the CFE Fund Academy and launch local Financial Empowerment Center initiatives, including Memphis and Santa Fe. The organization continues to develop and pilot new enhancements to its core FEC model and expand technical assistance capabilities to support partner cities nationwide.
City of Memphis Selected for National CityStart Financial Empowerment InitiativeThe organization maintains a Four-Star rating based on its accountability and financial practices, with a score of 94%.
Subject Areas
Focus areas based on grantmaking activity
Data last updated April 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated April 2026.
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