DENVER (September 29, 2021) – The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) and the Foundation for Financial Planning (FFP) are pleased to announce FPA of Orange County as the recipient of the 2021 Power of Financial Planning Award in recognition of their commitment to delivering pro bono financial planning in the spirit of FPA’s Primary Aim: To elevate the profession that transforms lives through the power of financial planning.
In its third year, the Power of Financial Planning Award recognizes an FPA chapter and its members’ efforts to provide quality pro bono financial planning and advice to underserved populations for 12 months, from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021.
“Financial planning has the power to transform lives, but the important services financial planners provide have been out of reach for many in underserved and at-risk communities for too long,” says 2021 FPA President Skip Schweiss CFP®, AIF®. “The incredible work our members are doing at the FPA of Orange County is opening doors and making financial planning more accessible. Their efforts are a testament to the power of planning and serve as a model for all our chapters to follow.”
FPA of Orange County was selected as this year’s award winner for their creativity in expanding their pro bono programming throughout the community and for creating greater engagement among local members. The chapter customized and utilized an advisor scheduling tool to arrange one-on-one engagements, used video messages to show members the importance of their efforts, recruited a dedicated onboarding volunteer, and developed bi-lingual community outreach materials to promote pro bono financial planning activities and webinars to the Spanish-speaking community.
The chapter engaged with several community and civic organizations to make pro bono financial planning available, including the Orange County United Way, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Families Forward, Goodwill, Working Wardrobes, OneStop, Hoag Center for Healthy Living, South County Outreach, META Foundation, WisePlace, WISE (Women Investing in Security and Education), the San Diego Financial Literacy Center, and Abrazar.
Twenty-three FPA of Orange County volunteers provided 250 hours of pro bono financial planning, helping 114 individuals discover the value of financial planning over the 12 months.
“Pro bono is such an important part of FPA of Orange County and it provides an invaluable benefit to our community that might not otherwise be available. Despite the lockdowns and not being able to help people face-to-face, our chapter’s community outreach programming has been committed to helping those in need by shifting our platform virtual,” says Jared Tanimoto, CFP®, president of FPA of Orange County. “Our chapter’s volunteers have worked extremely hard and contributed countless hours to making this program a success and we are truly honored to receive this award.”
Representatives from FPA and FFP recommended, and the FPA Board of Directors approved, FPA of Orange County as the recipient of the 2021 Power of Financial Planning Award.
“FFP envisions a future in which all people can benefit from quality financial advice. We applaud the members of FPA of Orange County who dedicated their time and skills to community members experiencing financial hardship, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By offering one-on-one sessions to people in need, they helped with personal financial topics such as goal setting, creating emergency funds, debt management, and more, while also importantly acting as objective, trustworthy listeners,” said Jon Dauphiné, CEO of the Foundation for Financial Planning.
Journalists interested in learning more about the award or speaking with a representative from FPA, FFP, or FPA of Orange County can contact Ben Lewis at 303-867-7190 or blewis@onefpa.org.
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About the Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is the principal membership organization for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professionals, educators, financial services professionals and students who are committed to elevating the profession that transforms lives through the power of financial planning. With a focus on the practice, business and profession of financial planning, FPA advances financial planning practitioners through every phase of their careers, from novice to master to leader of the profession. Learn more about FPA at financialplanningassociation.org and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/fpassociation.
About Foundation for Financial Planning
The Foundation for Financial Planning is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization, solely devoted to supporting the delivery of pro bono financial planning to at-risk populations, including active military members and wounded veterans, people with cancer and other serious medical diagnoses, seniors and family caregivers, low-income individuals and their families, domestic violence survivors and many more. Dedicated to powering pro bono financial planning, FFP has provided more than $8.3 million in grants to national and community-based pro bono programs; worked with partners to activate more than 22,000 financial planners to volunteer their time and talents; and acted as a leader and catalyst to embed a rich tradition of pro bono service across the financial planning profession. Visit FFPprobono.org to learn more.