U.S. Treasury Awards $2 Million to Benefit Organizations Serving Prospective Homebuyers

Five Organizations to Receive Funding for Financial Education and Counseling Initiatives

Washington, DC- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released today the names of five organizations which will receive federal grants under the first round of the Financial Education and Counseling (FEC) Pilot Program.

The grants, totaling $2 million in award funding made possible through fiscal year (FY) 2009 Congressional appropriations, will provide organizations financial assistance to establish and expand financial education and counseling services for prospective homebuyers.

"In today's difficult financial environment, it is an honor to be able to support organizations that are helping prospective homebuyers in tangible and effective ways," said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. "Financial education and counseling programs are empowering tools for the low-income and low-wealth individuals targeted by these organizations. The CDFI Fund is optimistic that our first FEC Pilot Program award round will provide a blue-print for further financial education initiatives of this kind."

The CDFI Fund implemented this program in collaboration with the Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial Education and Financial Access. "Financial education and counseling can empower people to build better financial futures and make smarter financial choices. By focusing on behavioral change, this program promises to develop useful new models for effective financial education and counseling," said Deputy Assistant Secretary Michelle Greene.

Each of the award recipients will receive $400,000. The authorizing statute for the program stipulates that no more than five organizations receive awards per appropriation.

The FY 2009 FEC Pilot Program Award Recipients Are:

• Boulder County Housing Authority, Boulder, CO
• Consumer Credit Counseling Service of WNC, Asheville, NC
• Mission Economic Development Agency, San Francisco, CA
• New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, Bedford, NH
• Resources for Residents and Communities of Georgia, Inc., Atlanta, GA

Related Links

To view profiles of the FY 2009 FEC Pilot Program awardees, please click here.

About the Financial and Education Counseling Pilot Program

The FEC Pilot Program was authorized pursuant to Section 1132 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-289). Through the FEC Pilot Program, the CDFI Fund will identify successful methods of financial education and counseling services that result in positive behavioral change for financial empowerment, and establish program models for organizations to deliver effective financial education and counseling services to prospective homebuyers.

The FEC Pilot Program was appropriated $4.15 million in FY 2010, of which $3.15 million was set aside by Congress to be provided to an organization located in the State of Hawaii. The CDFI Fund anticipates opening the 2010 FEC Pilot Program application round within the next 30 days, and will solicit applications from organizations located in Hawaii to compete for the $3.15 million.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded almost $1.2 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations and financial institutions through CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Award Program, and the Native Initiatives. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $26 billion in tax credit authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program.

For more information about the CDFI Fund, visit www.cdfifund.gov