Helping Military & Veterans
Why Military & Veterans?
Like most Americans, many service members do not receive comprehensive personal financial education in school. Compounding this, active members and veterans of the armed services often face substantial and unique financial challenges.
- Many face long deployments where housing, food and other necessities are taken care of, then return to navigate their financial circumstances on their own.
- Many have modest incomes and few assets, and would not be able to access quality, objective financial advice on their own. Help that may be available on military bases can be overwhelmed by demand, while predatory lenders often set up shop outside bases hoping to lure the unwary.
- Those who are wounded in service may face a maze of benefit applications and key financial decisions at a time of severe stress and turmoil.
- Young people leaving the armed services can face a daunting job market where their skills may not be perceived as relevant, leaving them unemployed or underemployed and financially at-risk as they attempt to adjust to civilian life.
How We Are Helping
For years, FFP has had a special focus on helping the men and women who serve our country and their families. Over the past decade, we have awarded over $600,000 to nonprofits committed to developing and expanding financial planning programs for military and veterans.
Depending on organizational need and geographic location, there may be opportunities for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals to volunteer with our grantees or other nonprofits serving members of the military or veterans. If you are interested in being connected to opportunities that may arise, please sign up on ProBonoPlannerMatch.org.
Recent Grantees
Coordinated Assistance Network
The Coordinated Assistance Network is a secure cloud-based platform for individuals who seek help from nonprofits in the areas of finances, housing, employment, benefits, education, counseling, and more. Initially developed as the Yellow Ribbon Network, CAN has an extensive history serving veterans and members of military. With support from FFP, CAN seeks to advance it technology platform to create a new financial planning offering, and then recruit CFP® professional volunteers to serve individuals in need.
San Diego Financial Literacy Center
The San Diego Financial Literacy Center (SDFLC) provides one-on-one financial planning to San Diego’s communities through Financial Opportunity Clinics. These complimentary clinics provide at-risk and low-income populations – many of them active military or veterans – with the opportunity to receive confidential advice and guidance from a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) professional. By helping individuals and their families who never thought a financial professional was within their reach, SDFLC’s programs have far reaching benefits for the entire community. To learn more about SDFLC’s impact, please find their story on FFP’s Our Impact page.
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Consumer Education Foundation
The NCEF-NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation provides one-on-one pro bono financial planning services to disabled veterans who recently were gifted a home from Building Homes for Heroes. Many recipients are first-time homeowners and need a financial plan to ensure they can afford to maintain the property and pay the property taxes. NAPFA volunteers are matched with each veteran homeowner for at least a 2-year period.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s project, Financial Front: One-on-One Financial Planning for Veteran Students, provided financial literacy training and one-on-one financial planning for student veterans at UW-Whitewater, potential veteran students, and area veterans.
Association for Financial Counseling, Planning & Education
AFCPE’s Military Transition Financial Wellness Program (MTFWP) provided education and advice from financial planners, counselors, and coaches to improve the financial well-being of service members and their spouses transitioning from active duty. FFP was proud to support this program, which sought to build a unique and replicable, integrated financial planning and coaching model for military communities.
