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Springfield wins Bloomberg planning grant to develop financial empowerment blueprint
Summary
Springfield applied for and accepted a planning grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to produce a one- to two‑year financial empowerment blueprint focused initially on Mason Square, with community engagement and partnerships planned.
Springfield officials said the city will use a Bloomberg Philanthropies planning grant to develop a financial empowerment blueprint aimed at improving residents’ long‑term financial outcomes.
Brian Connors, planning and economic development for the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, said the grant is a planning award from Bloomberg’s Cities for Financial Empowerment program and will fund a one‑ to two‑year study that begins with outreach in Mason Square. "This is a planning grant so it allows us to develop a financial empowerment blueprint to, prioritize strategies to improve financial outcomes for city residents," Connors said.
The nut graf: the planning process will produce a blueprint recommending programs and partnerships — such as workforce development, debt relief and banking access — that the city could pursue. Connors said the work will draw on existing research and programs already under way in the city, and will be used to recommend targeted actions and partnerships.
Connors told the Finance Committee the project will build on local efforts, including a recently funded financial empowerment center at AIC, and that local banks will be invited to participate. "We have some banking partners that we've begun to talk to," he said, citing a bank in Mason Square by way of example.
Committee members asked about geographic scope and outcomes. Maria Perez, City Councilor, Ward 1, noted that educational attainment in parts of the city is low and urged the study to address job and training barriers. Connors said the project will focus initially on Mason Square but that the resulting blueprint is intended to recommend citywide strategies, not a program limited to one neighborhood.
Connors said the city is one of six chosen nationally for the current cohort and that staff can share reports from earlier cities, noting Cincinnati had used a similar planning process to target medical debt relief in a prior cohort.
Officials said the grant is for planning and will not immediately create new, ongoing programs; it is intended to identify priorities and strategies for longer‑term action. No formal vote was recorded during the committee discussion.
