The following application and information are provided for organizations that are applying for a grant from the CalMoneySmart Program, funded by the Financial Empowerment Fund, established under Financial Code Section 24000, et seq. The CalMoneySmart Program and the Financial Empowerment Fund are hereinafter collectively referred to as “CalMoneySmart.” 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION 

CalMoneySmart began when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 455 in October 2019, which created the Financial Empowerment Fund to fund a grant program for nonprofit organizations to provide financial education and empowerment programs and services for the unbanked and underbanked. The CalMoneySmart program was launched with an initial $4 million fund, and the program was authorized to award up to $1 million each year to nonprofits for financial empowerment programs focusing on unbanked and underbanked consumers in California. Assembly Bill 137, signed by Governor Newsom in 2021, expanded the Financial Empowerment Fund by an additional $10 million, increasing the annual amount available for grants to $2 million and the maximum grant award to $200,000 per fiscal year until the program sunsets on January 1, 2030. 

Over the past five years, community-based nonprofit organizations receiving CalMoneySmart funding have used diverse and innovative approaches to support and educate underserved Californians, helping these Californians build better futures for themselves and their families.  Since the program’s inception in 2020, $10,990,623 has been awarded through 76 grants to 44 CalMoneySmart-funded nonprofit grantees. These grantees have assisted 60,474 individuals with free financial education, counseling, and access to financial products.  

In its 2023 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) found that 4.2 percent of American households were unbanked, and an additional 14.2 percent of households were underbanked. The California unbanked rate is slightly higher than the national rate, at 5.1 percent. 

Unbanked households, as defined by the FDIC, are households that do not have a checking or savings account. In contrast, according to the FDIC, underbanked households have a checking or savings account but have also used an alternative financial services provider in the past 12 months. Alternative services include money orders, check cashing, international remittances, payday loans, refund anticipation loans, rent-to-own services, pawn shop loans, or auto title loans. 

Unbanked households have disproportionately lower incomes and levels of education than banked households. Black and Hispanic households, single-mothers, working-age adults with a disability, and immigrants are also disproportionately represented among the unbanked. Due to their credit status, unbanked and underbanked households often pay high fees for everyday financial services and find it difficult to build savings, establish credit, and build wealth. 

Financial education programs, like those funded by CalMoneySmart, are cost-effective means to improve both financial knowledge and behaviors that promote stability, protect consumers, and generate wealth (Kaiser, FINRA Foundation, 2022). Financial education makes consumers more attentive to fraud risk and helps them to identify fraudulent activities such as phishing, investment scams, and identity theft red flags. (Engels, Kumar and Philip, Durham University Business School, 2019). Individualized counseling reinforces and empowers consumers to participate in financial services and build assets and financial security. Access to free financial products provides pathways to mainstream financial services and helps develop habits to increase financial well-being.  

Community-based nonprofit organizations that have received CalMoneySmart funding over the past five years have implemented diverse and innovative approaches to reaching Californians. These organizations provide support and education to empower participants to create a better future for themselves and their families. The DFPI CalMoneySmart web page highlights additional resources and showcases the accomplishments of CalMoneySmart grantees through Annual Reports.  

Since the program’s inception, grant funds have been awarded on an annual basis through a competitive application process. Starting in the 2024-25 fiscal year, applications are now accepted for a two-year period. Funding will be announced in advance for two consecutive fiscal years, with funds disbursed separately at the beginning of each year. This program change was introduced to improve sustainability of funding for community-based organizations, allowing them to recruit and retain qualified staff and build organizational capacity to meet program objectives.    

II. ELIGIBILITY 

To be eligible for a grant, an Applicant (meaning an applicant, organization, nonprofit, nonprofit organization, and/or applicant nonprofit organization) 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 or a nonprofit organization that meets specified requirements to qualify for state tax-exempt status as outlined in Assembly Bill 1318 (signed by Governor Newsom in 2025). 

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

3) The Applicant must be in good standing with the Secretary of State of California and the state of the Applicant’s incorporation, if applicable.  

4) Submission of a satisfactory final report and return of unused funds for any and all prior grant funding awarded by DFPI. 

III. USES OF GRANT FUNDS  

Grant funds may be used only for the following financial education and empowerment programs and services for 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 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. 

IV. GRANT CRITERIA  

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 an evaluation component designed to measure and document the extent to which the project achieves its intended outcomes and increases consumers’ financial well-being. 
• Include specific outcome targets for financial education, individualized counseling, and/or financial products.   

V. PROGRAM DATA COLLECTION GUIDELINES  

The following guidelines govern the collection and reporting of program-related data for all participants. These guidelines are intended to ensure consistent data practices that support program evaluation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.       

1) All Program data shall be collected, recorded, and maintained in a manner that is accurate, timely, and complete to the greatest extent possible. All data shall be maintained in accordance with applicable privacy, confidentiality, and data-security requirements. 

2) Required Data Elements: The Applicant shall make reasonable and good-faith efforts to collect and report on the following categories of data:  

a. General Program Data:  

• Number of service category sessions provided 
• Number of service category participants  
• Number of total unduplicated participants 

b. Program Outcome Data:  

• Number of participants who opened a new checking or savings account  
• Number of participants who accessed a credit report  
• Number of participants who created a budget  
• Number of participants who set a financial goal  
• Number of participants who established an emergency fund  

c. Participant Data:  

• Age group  
• Banking status 
• Ethnicity and/or race 
• Gender 
• Geographic residence by county 
• Household income level 

3) Supplemental Data Elements: The following data elements are strongly encouraged but not required for reporting compliance:  

• Amount of decreased debt (program total and average per participant) 
• Amount of increased savings (program total and average per participant) 
• Amount of increased credit score points (program total and average per participant) 

4) While it is preferred to collect data elements identified herein for each participant from program entry through program completion, it is acknowledged that full data capture may not be feasible in all circumstances. In such cases, the Applicant shall make reasonable efforts to obtain the data to the extent practicable and shall document instances where data is incomplete or unavailable. In the event that a participant declines to provide certain information or such information cannot be reasonably obtained, the Applicant shall record the data element as “not provided.” 

VI. OTHER PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS  

1) Grant awards will be announced for a two-year period covering two consecutive fiscal years. Funds for each fiscal year are disbursed separately and any unexpended funds for the first year must be returned to the DFPI. Disbursement of funding for the second fiscal year is contingent on submission of a satisfactory annual report. 

2) Grantees may use no more than 15 percent of the grant to cover administrative (indirect) costs. Failure to comply with this requirement shall render the Applicant ineligible for a grant during the subsequent fiscal year and until the noncompliance is corrected. Administrative costs proposed by each Applicant should be in proportion to the Applicant’s total grant amount requested. Administrative (indirect) costs may include, but are not limited to, costs of workforce overhead, human resources, accounting, finance, business and facility operations, and information technology. General liability and auto insurances are not eligible expenses. 

3) A grantee may subcontract services that it has agreed to provide under the grant agreement, so long as those services are conducted on behalf of the grantee. Subcontract arrangements must be clearly described in the scope of work and budget.      

4) Accepting grant funds with the intent of distributing those funds to other nonprofit organizations (e.g. sub-grants or fiscal sponsorships) is not allowed.      

5) Grant funding may not be used for financial incentives for individuals. Prohibited incentives include, but are not limited to, match funding for savings accounts, participant stipends, or gift cards with a cash value.  

6) Grantees are required to submit preliminary and final annual reports, in a form and by a date specified by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, documenting: 

• The specific uses to which grant funds were allocated, 
• The number of individuals aided through use of the funds, 
• Quantitative results regarding the impact of grant funding, and 
• Any other information requested by the Commissioner. 

Failure to submit satisfactory reports shall render the Applicant ineligible for any DFPI grant during the subsequent fiscal year and until the required report is submitted.  

VII. APPLICATION TIMING AND PROCESSING  

Completed applications, including all required information and supporting documentation, are due on or before 5:00 pm PDT April 27, 2026. 

Incomplete applications, or applications submitted after the April 27, 2026  deadline will NOT be reviewed or considered for a grant.   

Applications will first be reviewed for eligibility and then evaluated by a Review Panel consisting of internal DFPI staff members and an external Steering Committee. The Department will notify all Applicants in writing of its decision on the Applicant’s application on or around July 2026. If the Applicant is awarded a grant, the Commissioner will notify the Applicant of the grant amount. The Department will post the list of Grantees for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 fiscal years on its website. Grant funding amounts may differ from the amount proposed in the application. The Commissioner’s decisions regarding grant amounts and approved administrative costs are final and not subject to appeal.   

Information submitted in grant applications is subject to disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act (Government Code section 7920.000, et seq.).   

Applicants selected to be awarded a grant must submit the following documents to the Department, completed and signed within five business days of being notified that Applicant has been selected:  

• DFPI Form EOO 101 CalMoneySmart Agreement  
• Amended Scope of Work Form (if applicable)  
• STD 204 - Payee Data Record  
• Invoice for the first installment of funding  

Failure to submit the completed, signed CalMoneySmart Agreement within the specified five business day period will render Applicant ineligible for disbursement of the grant. 

Grant monies will be disbursed according to the CalMoneySmart Agreement beginning on or around September 2026 for the grant period of August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. Grant monies for the fiscal year 2027-28 will be disbursed upon completion of a satisfactory fiscal year 2026-27 annual report. Grantees may be eligible to receive up to 25 percent of the grant amount as an advance payment. Expenditures must be reported on a quarterly basis.   

VIII. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION  

Applications and supporting documentation must be submitted to the Department electronically, by completing the online application available below. The Department will accept paper applications and/or supporting documents on a case-by-case basis. Submissions must include the items listed below and any additional items requested by the Department after having reviewed the Applicant’s submission. 

• Completed application, with all required information and supporting documentation. 
• Certification, Declaration, and Signatures. The Applicant shall certify and declare under penalty of perjury that the Applicant agrees to specified terms and conditions included in this Application and the CalMoneySmart Agreement, which Grantees must sign, as a requirement of receiving any grant funds.  

Applicant shall be required to return all or a portion of the grant funds including any investment earnings if the Applicant fails to use the funds as approved. Applicant will also be subject to enforcement activity for misuse of funds, including civil and criminal proceedings, damages, and penalties.

THE APPLICATION AND CALMONEYSMART AGREEMENT SHALL BE EXECUTED BY: 

1) THE APPLICANT’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OR OTHER AUTHORIZED OFFICER, AND 

2) THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (IF APPLICABLE)