Three Counties Selected to Add Financial Stability Resources into Local Emergency Response Plans

Montgomery County, MD; Orange County, FL; and Sonoma County, CA Competitively Selected by Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to Incorporate Financial Empowerment Support into Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans

NEW YORK, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, national nonprofit Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) announced that it has competitively selected a new cohort of three municipalities – Montgomery County, MD; Orange County, FL; and Sonoma County, CA – to participate in its Emergency Financial Empowerment (EFE) initiative. The CFE Fund's EFE initiative provides local governments with grant dollars and technical assistance to build and expand their local emergency preparedness and response infrastructure to support the individual and family financial needs of their residents in emergencies.

Natural and man-made disasters, public health crises, and localized emergencies often significantly impact the financial stability of residents with unexpected expenses, loss of income, and other financial stresses.  These shocks can lead to long-term financial consequences. While individuals and families suffer these impacts, they also must contend with identifying available assistance resources, determining their eligibility, and learning the process for accessing those resources. Additionally, a household's financial stability before a disaster takes place can have a major impact on their ability to access relief programs when emergencies do happen.

Through the CFE Fund's EFE initiative, each municipality will receive a $150,000 grant and technical assistance to connect financial empowerment supports to emergency preparedness and response procedures. These supports could range from expanding individual financial counseling to preparing for emergencies to helping residents navigate requirements across federal grant and loan applications after a disaster. This new cohort follows the inaugural five-city cohort, including St. Paul, MN; St. Louis, MO; Gainesville, FL; Rochester, NY; and Dallas, TX. In those cities, partners are currently working on enhancing their local emergency plans to include financial empowerment strategies, training local service providers on connecting residents to financial stability resources before and after emergencies, and more.

"Financial stability is a critical component of most emergencies, and so we're pleased to work with these municipal partners as they enhance their emergency preparedness and recovery plans to include financial empowerment services," said Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund.

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. The CFE Fund is currently working in over 150 cities and counties, and has disbursed over $75 million to local governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Bluesky at @cfefund.bsky.social.

Media Contact:
Katie Plat, [email protected]

SOURCE Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund