The Citi Foundation and Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to Provide Summer Job Opportunities, Financial Education, and Banking Access for 21 Cities

NEW YORK, June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Citi Foundation announced an additional $4 million in support to the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) to provide summer jobs and access to financial education to low-income youth in 21 cities as part of Summer Jobs Connect (SJC). This 2020 cohort includes seven cities new to the initiative.

As cities across the country grapple with the wide-ranging impacts of systemic racism, investing in communities and supporting the financial stability of young Black people and young people of color through summer youth employment programs, and through the financial education and banking access provided through SJC, is more important than ever. 74% of the young people served by SJC programs across the country are Black and SJC will continue to prioritize serving communities of color.

Since launching in 2014, the Citi Foundation has invested over $32 million in the Summer Jobs Connect initiative, which has provided nearly 13,500 low-income youth with summer work experience, access to financial education, and appropriate financial services; SJC city partners have built these financial empowerment strategies into the infrastructure of their Summer Youth Employment Programs.

"As we recover from the long-term impacts of COVID-19, it is essential to ensure that youth from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds across the U.S. still have the opportunity to gain valuable job experience and financial skills," said Brandee McHale, Head of Citi Community Investing and Development, President of the Citi Foundation. "We continue to be a proud partner of Cities for Financial Empowerment as they have worked diligently with cities to swiftly adjust their Summer Jobs Connect programs so that young people do not miss out on the formative experience of a first job."

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFE Fund is working with many SJC partners to pivot their Summer Youth Employment Programming to allow for remote summer experiences, including online training programs (such as financial education, career exploration, social and emotional learning, and other professional soft skills training) and virtual internships.

"Summer jobs are excellent ways to financially empower young people - connecting them to safe bank and credit union accounts and helping them to save and to manage their money," said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. "We applaud our city partners across the country for the creativity and thoughtfulness they've shown in pivoting their programs to meet this moment, and join them in thanking the Citi Foundation for their support and investment in this critical work." 

With support from Citi Foundation, the CFE Fund selected seven new Summer Jobs Connect partners to join the initiative in 2020. New SJC partners include Baltimore County, MD; Denver, CO; Jacksonville, FL; Madison, WI; Oakland, CA; St. Paul, MN, and Syracuse, NY. These new cities join existing partners Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Savannah, GA; St. Louis, MO; Virginia Beach, VA; and Washington, DC as part of the Summer Jobs Connect initiative.

To kick off the program, today the CFE Fund launched a #SummerJobsConnect social media campaign on Twitter and Instagram that will highlight youth and partner voices about the impact of Summer Jobs Connect throughout the summer.

Launched in 2014 as part of the Citi Foundation's Pathways to Progress initiative to prepare young people to become career ready, Summer Jobs Connect builds off the successes of municipal Summer Youth Employment Programs, partnering with city leaders to integrate access to mainstream financial products, financial education, and career skills. Across the country, the Summer Jobs Connect initiative has impacted 110,000 young people each year through financial education.

Summer Jobs Connect leverages the infrastructure and paycheck moment of municipal Summer Youth Employment Programs to embed banking access and targeted financial education, serving as a national model for cities and other stakeholders on how banking access efforts can be embedded in municipal systems. This is a core goal of the CFE Fund's national Bank On initiative, which works to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable financial products and services. The CFE Fund has been working with city partners to ensure the availability of safe, affordable youth banking accounts, including through the creation of programmatic Summer Jobs Connect Youth Account Priorities.

This summer, the CFE Fund and the Citi Foundation will engage thousands of young people across the country participating in Summer Jobs Connect to share the program's impact on their experiences opening a bank account, building savings, earning pay through direct deposit, and working a summer job remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions, all on social media. This campaign - #SummerJobsConnect - will highlight first-hand perspectives on the impact of Summer Jobs Connect throughout the duration of the summer programs, including key program moments like financial literacy training, bank or credit union account opening, and more. This campaign follows successful campaigns in 2019, 2018, and 2017 to engage with and amplify young people's Summer Jobs Connect experience.

About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund)
The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFEFund.

About the Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.  

Media Contact:
Rachel Stand
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SOURCE Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund