CFP Board's Financial Planning Grants Program

From 2006 to 2010, CFP Board's Financial Planning Grants program provided grant funding totaling $1,552,457 to 36 projects. This grants program was designed to further CFP Board's mission to uphold the CFP® certification as the recognized standard of excellence in personal financial planning by providing financial support to innovative and sustainable programs that help people better understand the benefits of financial planning and that increase access to competent and ethical financial planning.

Grant recipients included non-profit organizations, educators and CFP® professionals undertaking a wide variety of projects across the U.S., ranging from innovative uses of technology that expand public access to financial planning to creative partnerships delivering financial planning information and assistance through libraries, high schools, colleges and community-based organizations. View information on the projects that received grant funds from CFP Board.

During the time the grants program was administered, CFP Board increased its engagement engaged with numerous other initiatives designed to promote public understanding of the benefits of financial planning and working with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, including the following:

• Financial Planning Clinics: CFP Board has assisted thousands of individuals and families across the country through free financial planning clinics and programs such as the national Financial Planning Days initiative (in collaboration with the Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning and U.S. Conference of Mayors), providing attendees the opportunity to consult with CFP® professionals about their personal finances and come away with personalized information and advice on a wide range of financial matters.
• Consumer Advocate: Through regular appearances in the media and at public events, CFP Board's Consumer Advocate, Eleanor Blayney, CFP®, provides consumers with insights on personal finance issues and makes complex ideas and strategies accessible and understandable.
• CFP Board Ambassadors: This program is an extension of the Consumer Advocate, with Ambassadors serving as go-to resources for local media and communities across the country.
• Resources and Publications: CFP Board's educational publications provide information about financial planning and guidance for consumers seeking a competent and ethical financial planning professional.
• Partnerships: CFP Board continually works with many organizations with shared objectives to achieve our mission and help Americans reach their life goals though competent and ethical financial planning. CFP Board also collaborates with government agencies and public interest organizations to develop various publications.
• Public Awareness Campaign: In 2011, CFP Board launched its first large-scale public awareness campaign to raise the awareness of CFP® certification featuring advertisements in national print publications, in online resources, and on national cable television channels featuring the public service website www.letsmakeaplan.org.

Following careful consideration of CFP Board's increased focus on initiatives with goals similar to those of the grants program, the financial and staff support required to support and measure the effectiveness of those other initiatives, and the variety of financial planning-related grant opportunities available from other organizations, CFP Board determined in 2011 to discontinue the grants program.

While grant funding is not currently available from CFP Board, we appreciate the number of organizations and individuals involved in worthwhile projects aligned with CFP Board's mission. If your organization hosts events that may benefit from the participation of CFP® professionals, we invite you to contact CFP Board at mail@cfpboard.org to inquire about ways we might assist in recruiting interested CFP® professionals from your community.

Grant Programs Supporting Financial Planning-Related Projects

Find out more about other organizations that make grant funding available to financial planning-related projects:

• The Foundation for Financial Planning awards grants to non-profit organizations for pro bono advice and community outreach activities that help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community to people in need. Learn more at http://foundation-finplan.org/.
• National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) administers various grants programs to help respond to the financial education needs of Americans. Learn more at http://www.nefe.org/Grantmaking/.
• The FINRA Investor Education Foundation administers a General Grant Program that provides grant to fund research and educational projects that support its mission of providing underserved Americans with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for financial success throughout life. Learn more at http://www.finrafoundation.org/grants/.

Read more about grants CFP Board awarded in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.