Center For Financial Empowerment

What Center For Financial Empowerment does

Center For Financial Empowerment (CFE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 by Rize Credit Union (formerly SCE Credit Union) to deliver youth financial literacy programming to disadvantaged young people. Headquartered in Irwindale, California with a second office in Las Vegas, Nevada, the organization operates a 9-person staff and serves students in Southern California and Southern Nevada. Its core product is a bundled curriculum portfolio built around four programs: Mad City Money, a real-life personal finance simulation; Personal Finance Workshops; Youth Saving Incentives; and Empowerment In Action, an outcomes-tracking component. The content is mapped to 10 financial skill modules aligned with high school personal finance standards and is delivered in person through partner schools and community organizations rather than through a proprietary technology platform.

CFE's business model is that of a grant-funded nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise: it has no tuition-charging customers and no transactional revenue. Funding is sourced from a mix of institutional foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. The named sponsor cluster includes Rize Credit Union (founder and primary sponsor), MGM Resorts & Foundation, Wynn Resorts Foundation, Enterprise Holdings, and Toyota Financial Savings Bank. The organization is structurally linked to Rize Credit Union through an integrated education-to-banking pathway in which students completing CFE programs are routed into Rize-branded youth banking products, creating a closed-loop model that is uncommon among financial literacy nonprofits.

The competitive context is that of a community-scale nonprofit operating in a fragmented sector populated by national financial literacy providers, credit union foundations, and school-district programs. CFE's differentiation rests on its direct in-person school distribution in two regional markets, its nearly two-decade-refined curriculum, and its structural affiliation with a regulated depository institution. The 2024 Impact Report formalizes an outcomes-measurement layer, but the organization does not deploy any proprietary technology, software product, or AI/ML capability, and the input data set contains no audited financials, revenue figures, or multi-year operating metrics.

Name

Center For Financial Empowerment

Legal name

Center For Financial Empowerment

Website

https://center4fe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Center For Financial Empowerment is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 by Rize Credit Union that delivers youth financial literacy programs, including Mad City Money simulations and workshops, to disadvantaged students in Southern California and Southern Nevada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Financial Literacy Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Finance & Financial Literacy for Students (EDAMAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building) (BPAGALAJ)

Keywords

• Youth financial education
• Financial literacy programs
• Personal finance workshops
• Youth savings incentives
• Nonprofit financial education

Headquarters

HQ city

Irwindale, CA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Grants: CFE receives financial support from foundations and corporations including MGM Resorts International, MGM Resorts Foundation, Wynn Resorts Foundation, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, and other corporate donors. These grants and donations fund program delivery to underserved youth at no cost to participants.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute to support youth financial literacy programs. Donations are solicited through the organization's website with specific giving tiers that fund particular program elements (classroom materials, Mad City Money experiences, personal finance classes, budgeting workshops).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Center For Financial Empowerment provides free financial literacy programs to disadvantaged high school youth in Southern California and Southern Nevada. Core offerings include Mad City Money (interactive financial simulation), Personal Finance Workshops (classroom-based curriculum on budgeting, savings, credit, and money handling), Youth Saving Incentives (reward-based savings program), and Empowerment In Action (impact tracking). Programs are delivered on-site at partner schools and community organizations, funded through donations and grants from Rize Credit Union and other corporate and foundation supporters.

Product overview

The Center for Financial Empowerment operates as a nonprofit financial education service provider offering a portfolio of programs designed to empower disadvantaged youth with financial literacy skills. The core offerings include Mad City Money (an interactive financial simulation), Personal Finance Workshops (classroom-based education), Youth Saving Incentives (savings reward program), and Empowerment In Action (impact tracking). These programs work together to provide comprehensive financial education—from hands-on experiential learning through simulation activities, to structured classroom instruction, savings behavior reinforcement, and outcome measurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mad City Money An interactive financial simulation experience where teens role-play real-world financial scenarios, including managing a household budget, making purchasing decisions, and interacting with volunteer merchants in a hands-on learning environment. Delivered at partner schools and community events for disadvantaged high school youth.
• Personal Finance Workshops Classroom-based financial education curriculum delivered to high school students, covering topics such as budgeting, savings, credit management, and money handling skills. Provided free to partner schools in Southern California and Southern Nevada.
• Youth Saving Incentives A savings program that incentivizes students to develop saving habits and build financial stability through reward-based savings accumulation. Designed for disadvantaged youth to translate financial education into behavior.
• Empowerment In Action A results and outcomes program that tracks and demonstrates the impact of financial education on participating youth, showcasing measurable improvements in financial knowledge and behavior. Used to report impact to donors, partners, and the community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of teens receive life-changing financial education annually through free programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Rize Credit UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Rize Credit Union (formerly SCE Credit Union) is the founder and primary sponsor of CFE, having established the organization in 2005. The credit union provides vision, ongoing financial support, and operational backing. This partnership enables CFE to provide youth with access to affordable deposit accounts, loans, and financial tools following their education.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Money Smart (FDIC): FDIC-published free financial education curriculum widely adopted by banks, credit unions, and schools for youth and adult financial literacy. Adjacent ecosystem player that competes for the same school-district curriculum adoption slot as CFE.

Direct peers

• FoolProof: Provider of free, interactive financial literacy curricula designed for K-12 and college students, with credit union and bank sponsorship models. Directly comparable given its credit union sponsorship heritage and youth-focused free curriculum approach.
• Operation HOPE: Nonprofit delivering financial literacy, credit counseling, and economic empowerment programs to underserved youth and adults. Comparable mission around financial empowerment and inclusion for disadvantaged populations, with similar nonprofit and partner-supported delivery model.
• Next Gen Personal Finance: Nonprofit providing free personal finance curriculum, professional development, and lesson delivery tools to high school teachers nationwide. Directly comparable as it targets the same high school audience with free, curriculum-based financial literacy programming.
• Council for Economic Education: National nonprofit focused on personal finance and economic education in K-12 schools, providing curriculum, teacher training, and standards advocacy. Comparable as a nonprofit advancing financial literacy in the same K-12 audience.
• Junior Achievement: The largest U.S. nonprofit dedicated to youth financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education for K-12 students. Directly comparable as a nonprofit delivering financial education curricula into high schools through volunteer-supported programs, with similar free-to-student delivery.

Broad incumbents

• EverFi (Vector Solutions): Large-scale digital financial literacy platform reaching thousands of K-12 schools and universities with online, self-paced modules. Broader incumbent competitor given its scale and digital delivery model versus CFE's in-person approach.

Emerging players

• GreenPath Financial Wellness: Nonprofit credit counseling and financial education organization serving consumers with debt counseling, housing counseling, and financial wellness programming. Partial overlap with CFE's financial literacy mission, but oriented more toward counseling adults.
• INROADS / InStePP Youth Programs: Youth-serving nonprofits combining life skills, financial literacy, and college/career readiness for disadvantaged students. Tangentially comparable given shared target audience of disadvantaged youth and life-skills curriculum overlap.
• Take Charge America (INSTEAD): Nonprofit financial education and debt management organization offering youth and adult financial literacy programming. Comparable mission and nonprofit delivery model, though focused more broadly across age groups.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ctr4fe
• Facebookfacebook.com/center4fe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center4fe
• Instagraminstagram.com/center4fe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center For Financial Empowerment