Foundation for Financial Planning Announces 2018 Grants Recipients

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Foundation for Financial Planning (FFP) has announced that it will reward grants to eighteen nonprofit organizations, each working to deliver pro bono financial planning to populations who could not otherwise afford or access such services. Benefiting clients include military veterans, active service members and their spouses, lower income seniors and family caregivers, domestic violence survivors, families affected by cancer and more.

In 2018, grant funds from the Foundation for Financial Planning will support the following organizations:

• ACHIEVA Family Trust in Pittsburg, PA
• Austin Habitat for Humanity in Austin, TX
• Britepaths (formerly Our Daily Bread, Inc.) in Fairfax, VA
• Capital Area Asset Building Corporation in Washington, DC
• Coalition for a Better Acre in Lowell, MA
• Consumer Education and Training Services (CENTS) in Seattle, WA
• Family Reach in Boston, MA
• Financial Independence Training, Inc. (FIT) in La Mesa, CA
• Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) in Denver, CO and selected FPA® Chapters
• Goodwill Industries of Lane and South Coast in Eugene, OR
• Goodwill of Greater Washington in Washington, DC
• Housing Crisis Center in Dallas, TX
• I Care Atlanta in Atlanta, GA
• Little Tokyo Service Center in Los Angeles, CA
• Midas Collaborative in Allston, MA
• NCEF-NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation in Chicago, IL
• San Diego Financial Literacy Center in San Diego, CA
• Working in Support of Education in New York, NY

"Thanks to support from FFP, we'll be able to sustain and expand our Financial Readiness Clinics," noted David Block, CFP®, Executive Director of FIT. "These clinics – involving one-on-one meetings with volunteer financial planners – are critical to our active service members as they make key financial decisions. For example, consider a U.S. marine returning from active duty with money in his pocket post-deployment. He may be tempted to buy an expensive car rather than think about the long term. These impulsive decisions can be detrimental to overall financial security, and, in the most severe cases, put service members' security clearances and careers at risk. Through this program, they can access expert advice to help them make sound financial choices."

Amy Phillips, Director of Senior Services at Little Tokyo Service Center in Los Angeles says it's not unusual for Asian Americans, particularly seniors, to struggle with their finances in silence. "Many of our clients don't have the knowledge or skills to care for their financial futures, and they're too ashamed to ask for help. Our one-on-one financial planning program allows them to receive the guidance they need in a comfortable environment and in their preferred language. Taking away the stigma surrounding financial problems has been a critical component to the success of this program."

Funding for these organizations is part of more than $400,000 in grants that FFP will issue in 2018, an important step in helping the Foundation achieve its vision to dramatically increase impact over the next three years. "As we focus on creating more impact, we are carefully assessing grant applicants for their potential to serve many people, inform scalable models, and reach the types of at-risk consumer groups who can most benefit from pro bono financial planning," said Jon Dauphiné, Chief Executive Officer of FFP. "This is a stellar lineup of grantees, all dedicated to advancing this vision by building pro bono financial planning programs that will reach far into their organizations and communities."

Dauphiné noted that two of the 2018 grant recipients are part of FFP's new Pro Bono for Cancer Campaign: "CENTS and Family Reach are two excellent organizations helping us launch a special new effort connecting cancer patients and their families to volunteer financial planners. Research shows that financial issues are the second most frequent source of distress identified by families battling cancer, and we believe that quality financial advice and planning can help change that." FFP is working closely with these organizations, as well as the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), to develop and launch pilot programs in Boston and Seattle. Tools and learnings from these pilots will be used to inform program expansion to additional communities and cancer centers in the months and years ahead.

The Foundation also announced last week that it has opened applications for 2019 grants, which will support worthy programs delivering pro bono financial planning to populations who could not otherwise afford or access financial planning services. Eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are invited to apply by visiting foundationforfinancialplanning.org/our-work/grants/. The application process will close April 30, 2018. Partnerships for the Pro Bono for Cancer effort are by invitation-only.

About the Foundation for Financial Planning
The Foundation for Financial Planning, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is the nation's only nonprofit solely devoted to supporting the delivery of pro bono financial planning to vulnerable people, including wounded veterans, domestic violence survivors, people with serious medical diagnoses, and many others. Dedicated to Powering Pro Bono Financial Planning, the Foundation has provided more than $6.6 million in grants to community-based nonprofits to support local programs; worked with partners to activate more than 15,000 volunteer financial planners to serve their communities; and acted as a leader and catalyst to embed a rich tradition of and commitment to pro bono across the financial planning profession. Visit FoundationForFinancialPlanning.org to learn more. 

CONTACT
Jon Dauphiné
Chief Executive Officer
202-864-5180

SOURCE Foundation for Financial Planning

Related Links

http://FoundationForFinancialPlanning.org