2008 Financial Planning Grants from CFP Board

The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. To further this mission, CFP Board offers grants to sustainable projects that promote an understanding of the benefits of financial planning and provide underserved populations with access to competent and ethical financial planning. The 2008 Financial Planning Grants program received applications from more than 50 projects by the application deadline in May 2008.

On December 1, 2008, CFP Board announced that $199,390 in grant funding had been allocated to five projects selected for funding through the 2008 Financial Planning Grants program. The five projects receiving grant funds from CFP Board are listed below, and additional information about the projects will be posted as the funded activities progress.

$15,000 to AccountAbility Minnesota
With funding from CFP Board, AccountAbility Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn. will expand the financial planning services it makes available through volunteer CFP® professionals to consumers who take advantage of its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs across the state of Minnesota.

Read the February 2009 CFP Board Report profile of AccountAbility Minnesota's use of grant funding from CFP Board.

$50,000 to Capital Area Asset Builders
With funding from CFP Board, Capital Area Asset Builders in Washington, DC will expand the financial planning components of its financial education programs and provide its low- and moderate-income constituents with access to volunteer CFP® professionals through events and online resources.

Read the April 3, 2009 CFP Board Report profile of Capital Area Asset Builders' use of grant funding from CFP Board.

$79,500 to the Institute of Financial Planning Education
With funding from CFP Board, the Institute of Financial Planning Education in Castro Valley, Calif. will develop an online system to support and expand the reach of a day-long workshop created by Dr. Douglas Rice, CFP® that helps low- to moderate-income attendees establish a step-by-step financial plan.

$17,890 to Regents of the University of California, Irvine, University Extension
With funding from CFP Board, the University of California, Irvine, University Extension in Irvine, Calif. will translate its online Fundamentals of Personal Financial Planning program into Spanish, extending the demographic reach of this introduction to the personal financial planning topics involved in the education and examination requirements for CFP® certification. The English version of the program was developed with the aid of a 2006 CFP Board grant and is available to the public free of charge through the University’s Open Courseware program.

Read the January 2009 CFP Board Report profile of the University of California, Irvine Extenstion's use of grant funding from CFP Board.

$37,000 to University of Northern Colorado Foundation – Monfort College of Business
With funding from CFP Board, the Monfort College of Businesss at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. an Internet-based financial planning module in its “First Year Experience” course required of all incoming business students. The module includes interactive tools, video, and a chat application monitored by volunteer CFP® professionals, and the project involves faculty and students from the University’s CFP Board-registered financial planning education program.

Read more about grants CFP Board awarded in 2006 and 2007.

CFP Board's 2008 Financial Planning Grants Program

Important Note: The deadline for completed grant applications was May 15, 2008, and CFP Board is no longer accepting applications for the 2008 Financial Planning Grants program. The information below is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect the parameters of any future grant programs CFP Board may make available.

The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. To further this mission, CFP Board offers grants to sustainable projects that promote an understanding of the benefits of financial planning and provide underserved populations with access to competent and ethical financial planning.

This particular grant program is not designed to fund studies, papers, or one-time events. CFP Board seeks to fund projects with the goals of helping people understand that they can benefit from financial planning and increasing access to competent and ethical financial planning. Projects must be designed to reach those goals in ways that can be sustained after any grant funding is expended. The projects can be existing or be start-ups, but the grant money must fund something distinct that furthers CFP Board's mission.

For the 2008 grant program, CFP Board is especially interested in applications related to the following project types:

• Projects that provide constituents of community-based organizations with access to the benefits of financial planning
• Projects that use a train-the-trainer approach to deliver the benefits of financial planning to those in positions to educate others about those benefits
• Projects that incorporate the benefits of financial planning into broader programs focused on financial literacy
• Projects that leverage current technology to deliver the benefits of financial planning in new and effective ways
• Projects that seek to provide the benefits of financial planning to individuals in crisis

CFP Board will not be involved in the operation of any grant-receiving body but will expect to receive reports on progress and outcomes that help it evaluate how effective the project has been at furthering its mission. CFP Board will collaborate with the grant-receiving body to publicize the outcome of the funded projects.

The application deadline for CFP Board's 2008 Financial Planning Grants Program was May 15, 2008, and we are no longer accepting applications for this year's program.

Who Can Apply for a Grant from CFP Board?
Any individual or organization with a sustainable project that assists people in understanding the benefits of planning may apply for a grant from CFP Board, with the following restrictions:

1. CFP Board will not award grants to any individual or organization with an apparent or real conflict of interest, including any current CFP Board employees, any current CFP Board volunteers or any individuals who served as CFP Board volunteers or employees within the past twelve months;
2. CFP Board will not award grants to any relative of the individuals listed in restriction 1, above, or to any organizations directly or indirectly controlled by the individuals and organizations listed in restriction 1 above;
3. CFP Board will award grants only to projects that include direct participation by CFP® professionals in good standing with CFP Board;
4. CFP Board will not award grants to any for-profit entity unless the requested funds are used to further a charitable, 501(c)(3) purpose; and
5. CFP Board will not award grants to projects that are already receiving all necessary funding from other sources.

How Do I Apply for a Grant from CFP Board?
Grant applications must be submitted with a Proposal Narrative that includes at a minimum the following information:

• A description of the organization requesting grant funding, including:
  • Structure and tax status
  • Mission
  • Constituents and partners
• A description of the project and how it furthers CFP Board's mission
• A description of the population the project will serve
• An identification of the individuals and organizations that will be involved in the project, including their credentials
• The amount of funding requested
• Funding sources, including an identification of any grant funding the organization will receive or use during the operations of the project proposed for funding by CFP Board
• An explanation of what the requested funds will be used for
• A detailed description of other sources of funding that support the project
• A timeline for the project with projected milestones and a disbursal schedule for the requested funds (grant funds are typically disbursed in installments tied to specific performance milestones)
• A description of the operations controls and effectiveness measures the project will utilize
• A description of how the project is or will become sustainable when any grant funding has been exhausted
• A description of the information the applicant expects to be able to supply CFP Board about the project's operations and outcomes
• Any special requirements or limitations

The application deadline for CFP Board's 2008 Financial Planning Grants Program was May 15, 2008, and we are no longer accepting applications for this year's program.

Grant funding is available at the discretion of CFP Board, based on its evaluation of individual applications, determination of relative priorities and availability of funds. Information about projects receiving grant funding through the 2006 and 2007 Financial Planning Grants programs is available online. If you have questions regarding CFP Board's 2008 Financial Planning Grants program, please contact CFP Board at grants@CFPBoard.org.