Letter from Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Vice-Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern Communicating information about the Children’s Savings Account Program

mayor@cambridgema.gov Phone: [phone removed] CITY OF CAMBRIDGE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR SUMBUL SIDDIQUI To: Cambridge City Council From: Mayor Siddiqui, Vice-Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern Date: September 30th, 2021 Subject: Communicating information about the Children’s Savings Account Program To the Honorable, the City Council: This week, the letter attached to this Communication was sent to all CPS Kindergarten families detailing the City of Cambridge Children’s Savings Account program. This program has been in the works for a long time, and we are thrilled that it is finally underway. After a family signs up for the program, a savings account is opened on behalf of the kindergarten student and $50.00 is automatically deposited. As the letter explains, “This program will encourage young children to save early and learn about the importance of having a financially secure future and savings for college, vocational school, or post-secondary education.” These accounts are held at East Cambridge Savings Bank, which will also provide financial education courses for all CPS kindergarten students so they can learn about important financial habits, banking, saving, and spending. In preparing for this launch, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor became members and attended quarterly meetings of the New England Children's Savings Account Consortium in partnership with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, and worked closely with the Boston Saves program to develop a program that would work here in Cambridge. We are grateful for the partnership and advice that we received and are excited to see the program up and running in Cambridge. Additionally, Councillor McGovern convened a meeting with San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros and Cambridge City leadership to begin the development of this program. San Francisco has the first, publicly funded CSA in the country ("Kindergarten to College") and has seen great success so far. We are hopeful that Cambridge’s Children’s Savings Account program in partnership with East Cambridge Savings Bank will serve as a shining example for private and public partnership to advance equity goals and be as successful as the models across the country we so closely examined. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Respectfully, Mayor Siddiqui, Vice-Mayor Mallon, and Councillor McGovern