City of Syracuse to use $20K grant to develop a financial-empowerment center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The City of Syracuse announced it will use a $20,000 grant to “develop and integrate” a financial-empowerment center that it says will help city residents “better manage their personal finances and lift families out of systemic poverty.”

Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies, both based in New York City, awarded the funding, outgoing Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said in a news release her office issued Tuesday.

This grant represents the “second phase” of an initiative started earlier this year, Miner’s office said.

The CFE Fund awarded the city a $20,000 planning grant to study the personal financial needs of Syracuse residents.

Working with staff from the city’s office of innovation and the department of neighborhood and business development, Syracuse contacted local service providers to assess the financial needs of city residents.

The $20,000 grant for the second phase will determine what a financial-empowerment center would look like when created. The effort will focus on the “needed” partnerships, how the center will be staffed, and the availability of “sustainable” funding streams.

“Local leaders know first-hand the connection between family financial stability and community financial stability,” Jonathan Mintz, president and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, said in the release. “Mayor Miner and the City of Syracuse are joining a national movement to bring free, high-quality financial counseling as a public service to their residents; we are proud to partner with Mayor Miner and Bloomberg Philanthropies on this critical work.”

The CFE Fund says it assists mayors and other local leaders to “identify, develop, fund, implement, and research” pilots and programs that help families “build assets and make the most” of their financial resources.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com