Skip to Content
Return to Search

CalMoneySmart 2023-24

Grantor:
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
Portal ID:
27380
Status:
Closed
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The CalMoneySmart program awards up to $2 million each year to nonprofits for financial empowerment programs focusing on unbanked and underbanked consumers to access lower-cost financial products and services, establish or improve their credit, increase their savings, or lower their debt. Funds can be used to for free financial education, financial coaching, or financial products or services.  

Description:

The CalMoneySmart grant program awards up to $2 million per year to eligible nonprofit organizations with a maximum grant award to $200,000 per fiscal year in funding to design, develop, or offer free financial education and empowerment content, provide free financial coaching, or design and develop free financial products or services for unbanked or underbanked households. Black and Hispanic households, single-mothers, working-age households with a disability, and immigrants are also disproportionately represented among the unbanked. 

Grant funds may only be used for the following financial education and financial empowerment programs and services for the targeted at-risk unbanked and underbanked populations:

1) Designing, developing, or offering, free of charge to consumers, classroom or web-based financial education and empowerment content intended to help unbanked and underbanked consumers achieve, identify, and access lower cost financial products and services, establish or improve their credit, increase their savings, or lower their debt.

2) Providing individualized, free financial coaching to unbanked and underbanked consumers.

3) Designing, developing, or offering, free of charge to consumers, a financial product or service intended to help unbanked and underbanked consumers identify and access responsible financial products and financial services, establish or improve their credit, increase their savings, or lower their debt.

Every project funded with a grant from the Financial Empowerment Fund shall meet all of the following criteria:

Promote and enhance the economic security of consumers. Adhere to the five principles of effective financial education described in the June 2017 report issued by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau titled "Effective financial education: Five principles and how to use them".

These five principles are:

1. Know the individuals and families to be served; 2. Provide actionable, relevant and timely information; 3. Improve key financial skills; 4. Build on motivation; and 5. Make it easy to make good decisions and follow through.

Grant recipients must demonstrate positive benefit for at-risk populations. To this end, grant recipients must provide the following:

Include one or more specific outcome targets. Include an evaluation component designed to measure and document the extent to which the project achieves its intended outcomes and increases consumers’ financial well-being.

Grantees may use no more than 15 percent of the grant to cover administrative costs. Insurance is required, but it is not an eligible expense.

Up to $2 million in grant funds will be awarded in 2023-24, with a maximum grant size of $200,000.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit

To be eligible for a grant, an Applicant must meet the following criteria:

1. The Applicant is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is organized and operated exclusively for one or more of the purposes described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and

2. No part of the net earnings of the Applicant shall inure to the benefit of a private shareholder or individual.

Eligible Geographies:

Grant funds must be used to benefit residents of California. 

Matching Funding Requirement:

No match is required for this grant.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
July 2023
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
FY July 1-June 30

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$2,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$1 – $200,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

Senate Bill 455 was signed into law on October 2, 2019 establishing the Financial Empowerment Fund for $4 million. In 2021, Assembly Bill 137 expanded the Fund by an additional $10 million. The annual amount available for grants is $2 million with a maximum grant award to $200,000 per fiscal year until the program sunsets on January 1, 2030.  Each fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Other

Funding Method Notes:

Grant Funds Disbursement: 90 percent upon signing of the grant agreement, 10 percent upon submission of a satisfactory final report.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
1-916-579-8622, Grants@dfpi.ca.gov

Similar to This Grant