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The leading voice for excellence in public finance

Thought Leadership Thursday

New Financial Wellness Grants Program

Kari Arfstrom

Thought Leadership Thursday Article

New Financial Wellness Grants Program
May 14, 2020
Deputy Executive Director for Learning
NAST
Dear Members and Supporters of NAST:

With great excitement the NAST Foundation announces the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the State and Local Government Financial Wellness Grants Program.  As thought leaders on Financial Education issues we want to give you the opportunity to start your planning now.  

In an effort to improve the financial wellness of the state and local public sector workforce, our new national initiative will competitively select and provide grants to state and local governments to establish or improve upon their own financial wellness programs. Past research has shown that while only about a quarter of local governments offer financial education programs, 68% of public employees would participate in a program if one was offered. These grants are intended to bridge this gap of want and need for financial wellness programming. We invite you to submit a proposal with a one-time funding request up to $100,000 to assist with projects and initiatives in your state. Download the RFP here.

Funds can be used to expand programming already offered, to establish new programs and initiatives, to work with trusted third-party vendors to reach the public sector workforce, or to reach a wider audience through other quality programming. We seek proposals that will reach the intended employees in one or a combination of formats (e.g., conferences, courses, presentations, project-based materials, curriculum, financial coaching/counseling, online training, or through traditional and social media) to raise awareness, improve knowledge, and change their employees’ financial wellness behaviors. Employees may be an entire jurisdiction or specific departments; partnerships between entities are encouraged. Proposals are due by July 15, 2020.

Please join us for a webinar on Thursday, May 28th at 3pm ET/ 2pm CT/ 1pm MT/ Noon PT, during which you can ask questions about the grant and application. To register for this complimentary webinar, click here. Please submit questions prior to the webinar at grants@NAST.org.

This initiative is being administered via a collaboration of the Center for State & Local Government Excellence (SLGE), The International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), and the National Association of State Treasurers Foundation (NASTF), with very generous support from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

For more information, please visit https://nast.org/grants/.

Sincerely,

Kari Arfstrom
Deputy Executive Director for Learning
National Association of State Treasurers
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