Foundation for Financial Planning Grants Available Through April 30 to Fund Pro Bono Financial Planning Programs

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Foundation for Financial Planning (FFP) is offering grants to great nonprofits to help fund programs linking financial planners pro bono to underserved people in need. Details follow:

• Who may apply? Any U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that shares FFP's commitment to helping underserved people achieve better financial stability and capability may apply.
• When and how to apply? Grant proposals will be accepted until April 30, 2017, via FFP's easy online application. Visit FoundationForFinancialPlanning.org/grants-and-programs for information and instructions. All applications are reviewed by the FFP Grants Committee, made up of independent financial planners and industry leaders. Approved grant applicants will begin to receive funding in January 2018.
• How much support is available? Grants are generally in the range of $5,000 to $40,000, with exceptions made for programs delivering outstanding impact. To date, FFP has provided over $6.2 million in grants.
• What types of programs are funded? Eligible programs must:
  • Engage financial planning professionals as volunteers (often this may be through a local affiliate of a financial planning organization, such as a Financial Planning Association® local chapter).
  • Include one-on-one engagements between financial planner volunteers and pro bono clients, fostering personalized financial planning advice and counsel.
  • Help people in need of financial guidance or in a financial crisis who are underserved by the market, and who ordinarily couldn't access quality, ethical advice.

FFP prefers to fund programs that are scalable, replicable and sustainable. Programs funded may offer one-time counseling engagements and/or ongoing coaching relationships between volunteer planner and client. Funding may be available for ongoing, proven programs; for new programs; or for a new financial planning component to enhance an existing program. 

FFP grants have supported programs helping many diverse groups, including people facing serious illness, veterans and active military, domestic violence survivors, low-income seniors and caregivers, disaster victims, general lower-income families, and many others.

FFP's 2017 grantees include eighteen nonprofit organizations that were carefully selected based on potential for impact in their communities. "The one-on-one financial planning provided to our constituents has afforded each one of them the most important facet of all: knowledge," said Brad Pagano, CPFC®, Managing Director for San Diego Financial Literacy Center (SDFLC), a current grantee. "Knowledge that financial planning is important. Knowledge that regardless of their current financial situation, there is always a path forward; and most importantly, knowledge that there are resources like SDFLC and FFP dedicated to serving our community and providing the type of education necessary to empower them to become smart with their money."

As a result of SDFLC's Smart With Your Money program, their clients are gaining financial independence by working with volunteer financial planners to build assets, reduce debt and chart a better way forward.

"FFP exists to power pro bono financial planning – to bring the benefits of ethical, professional planning to those who would otherwise lack access. By funding great community programs, we enable volunteers to work with people in need and to help them improve their finances and their lives," noted FFP Executive Director Jon Dauphiné. "I encourage nonprofits seeking to improve the financial capability of those they serve to set up a pro bono financial planning program and apply for a grant. We are here to help."

About the Foundation for Financial Planning
The Foundation for Financial Planning (FFP) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and 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, FFP has provided more than $6.2 million in grants to nonprofits to support financial capability 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 commitment to pro bono across the financial planning profession. Visit FoundationForFinancialPlanning.org to learn more.

CONTACT
Amira Tart
Director, Grants & Programs
202-864-5184
[email protected]

SOURCE Foundation for Financial Planning

Related Links

http://foundationforfinancialplanning.org/