Title
Authorizing the Office of Financial Empowerment to accept a grant in the amount of $490,000 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and to amend the 2026 Office of Financial Empowerment budget, in the amount of $390,000.
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WHEREAS, CollegeBound Saint Paul is the College Savings Account (“CSA”) program run by the City of Saint Paul (the “City”) through its Office of Financial Empowerment (“OFE”); and
WHEREAS, the CSA program is intended to improve the health, welfare, and prosperity of children and families in the City by addressing financial insecurity and disparities in educational attainment through providing seed-funded college savings accounts, financial education, and related supports to build long-term financial health; and
WHEREAS, the CSA program helps reduce gaps in postsecondary access and completion by addressing financial barriers that impact a child’s ability to pursue higher education and economic mobility; and
WHEREAS, by supporting postsecondary education, the CSA program contributes to a more skilled and educated workforce in the City; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council has previously found that the CSA Program serves a legitimate public and governmental purpose by advancing financial empowerment, economic mobility, and community well-being in the City; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 23-945, the City Council authorized the OFE to seek grant funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (the “Mott Foundation”) to support CollegeBound Saint Paul and regional CSA field-building activities through the Upper Midwest CSA Consortium (collectively, the “CSA Work”); and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the Mott Foundation awarded the City $600,000 to support the CSA Work; and
WHEREAS, the Mott Foundation has now approved a renewal grant in the amount of $490,000 to the City to continue supporting the CSA Work, pursuant to a grant acceptance letter sent by the Mott Foundation on November 11, 2025 and signed by former Depu...
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