Financial Wellness Programs for State and Local Employees: A Quick Reference Guide (Released July 2020)
The topic of financial wellness has become increasingly important for all Americans. This is occurring in the wake of two major economic downturns between 2007 and 2020, a global pandemic, changes to work-based benefits that have increased costs for employees, and wages for many not keeping pace with the cost of living. While financial wellness programs have been introduced and expanded for many in the private sector, federal government, and military, few initiatives have been developed and tailored for use by the nearly 19 million state and local government workers.
This quick reference guide is offered to outline: (1) what is meant by financial wellness (sometimes referred to as financial literacy or financial education); (2) what topics are included in employer-provided financial wellness programs; (3) what formats are typically used to offer and communicate program content; (4) what barriers employers must address and overcome in order to implement effective programs; and (5) how programs can be evaluated.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Application Process:
- Where can I find the RFP and what is the application due date? The proposal deadline has passed. Applicants will be notified before or on Sept 14, 2020.
- Who is eligible to apply for a grant? Local government and/or state governmental entities are invited to submit a proposal to establish or expand financial wellness programs for their employees. Here is the link to the U.S. Census definitions of federal, state and local governmental entities.
- What are some examples of allowable budget expenses? There are no parameters on what funds can be used for – other than the grant monies need to be expended within a year of the award– except for contributions. See #10 below for details.
- How are you defining Financial Wellness? We define financial wellness as “possessing the skills and knowledge on financial matters to confidently take effective action that best fulfills an individual’s personal, family and global community goals” (NFEC’s definition).
- How many pages are allowed for the application? Proposals should be no more than five (5) pages in length, double-spaced Word/PDF document, along with a one-page line item budget and budget narrative for the amount requested (Excel format not needed), and a Letter of Support on official letterhead (see the RFP for suggested wording for the letter of support). Your total application package should be no more than seven (7) pages total.
- How do I submit my grant application? Send the required proposal components as a single PDF file attached to an email to grants@NAST.org. Please use “Financial Wellness Grant” in the subject line.
- How much money can we request for the grant? Grant amounts are based on the sum total of employees you intend to reach within your workforce:
— 2,500+ employees: can request a grant up to $100,000.
— 500-2,500 employees: can request a grant up to $50,000.
— Less than 500 employees: can request a grant up to $25,000. - When will we know the outcome of our grant proposal? All applicants will be notified on or before September 14, 2020.
- Tell me more about the free digital tools being offered to applicants. These three resources will be made available to you whether or not you receive a grant to support your ongoing efforts. You can customize these tools when implementing financial wellness programs with the State Legislative Toolkit, the Speaker’s Kit, and the Conference-in-a Box. See appendix A for more. These resources will be posted on this webpage in September.
Can I use funds to contribute to 529/ABLE/savings accounts? No, funds may not be used to contribute to such accounts either directly or a match. However, a proposal could include funding to promote employees’ awareness of and participation in those types of accounts (e.g. educational materials, information on auto-deductions from payroll into accounts, etc.).
I missed the webinar. Can I listen to it on demand? Yes, here it is. (50 min.)
In an effort to improve the financial wellness of the state and local public sector workforce, a new national initiative will competitively select and provide grants to state and local governments to establish or improve upon their own financial wellness programs. 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 the generous support of the Wells Fargo Foundation.
