Polk County to Enhance Services for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

March 10, 2025 – Polk County, Iowa, in association with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund), announced today that they have been selected to participate in the Small Business Boost (SBB) Initiative.  Polk County was awarded a $90,000.00 grant to support new initiatives between small business support services and the Polk County Financial Empowerment Center.  Polk County is one of seven municipalities selected to connect local small business support services to the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) which offers professional one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can visit polkcountyFEC.dmacc.edu or www.empowermoney.org to make an appointment, or they can call 515-697-7700.

While small business ownership is widely regarded as a pathway toward wealth building, many small business owners and entrepreneurs face personal finance barriers that impede their ability to start or grow a business. This initiative, supported generously by Principal® Foundation, a global nonprofit organization committed to helping people and communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc operates build financially secure futures, will help local entrepreneurs and small business owners in Polk County improve their personal finances, better positioning them to access capital and achieve their business goals. 

Polk County Board of Supervisors Chair Matt McCoy stated:  “The Polk County Financial Empowerment Center has had significant success helping Polk County residents with financial challenges and goals since 2020.  Helping local entrepreneurs become well-positioned to bring their products, services and ideas to fruition is a great extension of this existing service.”

 “Small business ownership can be a powerful pathway to opportunity, helping entrepreneurs build financial stability and wealth for themselves, their families, and their communities – but for too many people, personal finances are an obstacle to a strong start,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “We’re thrilled to team with the Polk County Board of Supervisors and the Principal® Foundation on Small Business Boost, which will help entrepreneurs manage their personal finances and better access capital and generate wealth.”

“Small businesses are the mainstay of our nation’s economy, the pathway to financial security for millions of Americans, and the backbone of our communities,” said Jo Christine Miles, director, Principal® Foundation, and Community Relations. “Principal® Foundation supports organizations and programs that remove barriers and create opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs so they can grow their business and build financially secure futures. It’s why we continue to support the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund and its Small Business Boost initiative – a program that has had a positive impact on local small business owners and their communities.” 

The CFE Fund first piloted Small Business Boost in five municipalities, including Polk County, Iowa, in March 2022-2023 with Principal® Foundation support. The pilot program explored how FEC counseling could help entrepreneurs stabilize and improve their personal finances as the foundation for building and growing a sustainable business. Based on Polk County’s participation in the initial pilot program, the Polk County FEC will help inform this next iteration of SBB, joining with other FEC partners to further explore the impact on both entrepreneurs and business support integrating financial counseling services with small business support programs. In addition to creating new initiatives between entrepreneurs, service providers, and small business support programs, this next chapter will include robust qualitative research into the small business client journey and the impact of personal finances on entrepreneurial success.  

In Polk County, Small Business Boost financial counseling will be provided through the Evelyn K. Davis Center and Des Moines Area Community College, as an extension of existing services provided by the Polk County Financial Empowerment Center.  In addition to taking direct referrals from the public, the Polk County FEC is available to support small-business support organizations that provide important services but not the in-depth personal finance assistance that can help overcome barriers to business objectives, including small business coaching programs, higher education institutions, micro lenders, banking institutions, state and federal small business support programs and more. 

The Polk County Financial Empowerment Center has already helped more than 2,100 residents reduce debt by $860,000.00 and build $5,310,000.00 in savings.  These, and other achievements, help Polk County residents with financial stability as well as higher goals such as home ownership and small business development.

First piloted in New York City under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2008, FECs across the country have worked with over 180,000 clients, helping them reduce individual debt by over $293 million, and increasing their families’ savings by over $57 million. In addition, a CFE Fund evaluation showed that this program works even for residents with very low incomes and other complex financial challenges. There are currently 35 cities that have launched, or are working to launch, a local Financial Empowerment Center initiative.

At the Financial Empowerment Centers, professionally trained FEC counselors help consumers with low and moderate incomes manage their finances, pay down debt, increase savings, establish, and build credit, and access safe and affordable mainstream banking products. At the core of the FEC model is the integration of counseling into other social services – Small Business Boost is an example of one such targeted integration. Through the Small Business Boost initiative, Polk County FEC counselors will support business owners and entrepreneurs in addressing personal financial challenges that present barriers to success in building wealth through business ownership. In addition, Polk County FEC counselors will receive significant training on the relationship between personal finance and business growth, how to navigate entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how to drive business outcomes through improving personal finances.

 About Principal Foundation

Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc. (“Principal^® Foundation”) is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to organizations that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“Principal”) operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinct, independent, charitable entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so. 4197795-012025

About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund)

The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting-edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. The CFE Fund is currently working in almost 150 cities and counties representing 62 million people, and has disbursed over $69 million to city governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org  or follow us on Bluesky at @cfefund.bsky.social.