Norfolk Chosen by Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to Create Public Strategies that Prioritize Financial Mobility of Black Residents
NORFOLK, VA – The City of Norfolk has been selected to participate in the CityStart initiative with a focus on racial wealth equity with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund). Norfolk will receive an intensive technical assistance engagement partnership, along with a $75,000 planning grant.
The CityStart initiative helps local leaders develop and implement proven strategies to help families and communities become more financially stable. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, whose mission is to accelerate the pace of Black wealth accumulation in the U.S., is advising the CFE Fund and grantees on the design and execution of the CityStart program utilizing a racial wealth equity lens. CityStart is part of a suite of investments from Bloomberg Philanthropies to promote financial stability among residents in U.S. cities.
The City of Norfolk’s Department of Housing and Community Development, working with the CFE Fund, will craft its municipal financial empowerment blueprint identifying actionable implementation steps based on the financial needs of residents, especially Black residents; key administration priorities; and partnership opportunities. Development of the blueprint will be informed by a series of key stakeholder meetings, with a specific focus centering the needs of Black residents and identifying opportunities to address the racial wealth and assets gap, facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer, and build resident, family, and community financial stability. This work will build off the recommendations of the Mayor’s Commission on Social Equity and Economic Opportunity and the 2022 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing to improve economic opportunities for black residents.
“We recognize the importance of meeting the economic security needs of our residents. Working with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund will help as we continue to identify strategies to address the racial wealth gap, facilitate intergenerational wealth transfer, and build individual, family, and community financial stability,” said Dr. Chip Filer, Norfolk City Manager.
“Financial empowerment strategies are a critical tool for local leaders across the country working to improve their residents’ financial stability. Through this next cohort of our CityStart initiative, local governments and stakeholders from across the community will create blueprints that aim to transform residents’ financial lives and advance racial wealth equity,” said Jonathan Mintz, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “We congratulate Chip Filer, Norfolk’s City Manager, and look forward to working with him and his staff to harness the opportunities of financial empowerment work to benefit racial equity and wealth priorities in the City of Norfolk, and we thank Bloomberg Philanthropies for their longstanding partnership and investment in municipal financial empowerment.”
“The lasting impact of systemic inequities in our economies and financial system is glaring, with the typical Black family holding one-eighth of the wealth of the typical White family. Without immediate and innovative interventions, Black people will continue to have less economic power and fewer opportunities to thrive,” said Garnesha Ezediaro, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative. “We are proud to continue our partnership with the CFE Fund's CityStart program and are excited to equip eight new local governments with the resources they need to strengthen financially related services for their residents. Intentional local investments like this one are needed to move towards racial wealth equity.”
In addition to the City of Norfolk, other selected partners chosen through a competitive process include Baltimore, MD; Cleveland, OH; Monroe, LA; Newark, NJ; Rocky Mount, NC; Sacramento, CA; and Tallahassee/Leon County, FL. The City of Norfolk is part of the fifth cohort of CityStart partners for the CFE Fund, and the second cohort of CityStart partners to focus their blueprints on racial wealth equity strategies; these eight new local government partners join thirty-two localities to date that have already completed the CityStart financial empowerment public blueprint process.
The CityStart initiative draws on the CFE Fund’s extensive programmatic work over almost a decade with local government leaders in over 100 cities and counties, connecting critical on-the-ground insights about the impact of financial instability on families, communities, and municipal budgets with tangible, measurable, and sustainable municipal strategies to improve families' financial lives.