ABOUT
The Student Loan Empowerment Network
The Student Loan Empowerment Network is a group of 14 nonprofit organizations, in partnership with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), that provides free and individualized education, case management, and assistance with student loan issues for Californians.
Our Mission:
To help California student loan borrowers navigate the complex student loan repayment system and build a prosperous future.
Student Loan Empowerment Network Coordinators
DFPI
The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) protects consumers, regulates financial services, and fosters responsible innovation.
DFPI protects consumers by establishing and enforcing financial regulations that promote transparency and accountability.
They empower all Californians to access a fair and equitable financial marketplace through education and preventing potential risks, fraud, and abuse.
Learn more at dfpi.ca.gov.
BALANCE
BALANCE, a 55-year-old non-profit financial coaching agency based in San Francisco, serves as the Student Loan Empowerment Network Coordinator.
They manage the toll-free helpline for California student loan borrowers, connecting them with the appropriate network agencies for assistance.
Additionally, BALANCE oversees the network’s website and the network partners.
NCLC
Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has used its expertise in consumer law and energy policy to work for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people in the United States.
NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project provides information about student loan rights and responsibilities for borrowers and advocates.
NCLC serves as the training and quality assurance partner in the Student Loan Empowerment Network, developing and overseeing training programs for the Network’s service providers and ensuring that providers adhere to consistent and high-quality practices in line with the most recent student loan policies and regulations.
About the Student Loan Empowerment Network
The funding for the Student Loan Empowerment Network was authorized via Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022-2023 budget, which provided $10 million in one-time funding from the General Fund for Student Loan Borrower Assistance (SB 154). The DFPI was charged with implementing this legislation and launched a statewide marketing and communication campaign on student loan borrower education and outreach in 2023. In early 2024, DFPI awarded grants to 14 nonprofit organizations through a competitive two-year grant program to develop the Student Loan Empowerment Network, which operates as a hub and spokes model of service delivery.
The Student Loan Network Is Composed Of:
California Non-Profit Organizations:
Financial Counseling Agencies
Legal Aid Agencies
BALANCE
Phone: 1-888-456-2227
Established in 1969, BALANCE is a national non-profit organization based in Concord, California (CA) that is committed to breaking the cycle of generational poverty by empowering individuals, families, and communities through financial literacy and coaching. Our mission is to serve as our community’s trusted financial guide, helping balance challenges and important decisions at every stage of life. BALANCE helps clients achieve greater financial stability through debt reduction, credit score improvement, budgeting, and more. Our programs include online resources, workshops, and individual coaching sessions, and services are provided in multiple languages to increase accessibility.
With over 50 years of experience, BALANCE has developed long-standing relationships with Government-Sponsored Enterprises, the California Housing Finance Agency, the City of San Francisco, and over 400 other business and nonprofit partners, and we have earned the reputation as a trusted resource for sound financial guidance from partners and clients alike. Furthermore, recognizing that historically marginalized and minoritized populations are at higher risk for poverty and concomitant factors, such as fraud, low-paying jobs and unemployment, low educational attainment, poor health outcomes, etc., BALANCE prioritizes services in these communities through a lens of cultural humility and with a strong focus on accessibility.
In 2022 alone, BALANCE served over 81,000 individuals across our programs and platforms through Housing Counseling, Financial Fitness Counseling, Smart Money Coaching, Student Loan Counseling and Debt Management support. Specific to student loans, we conduct workshops and webinars about planning for college and how to fill out the FAFSA form, teach college students how to manage money, and help graduates understand student loan repayment options with individual financial coaching.
Bay Area Legal Aid
Legal Advice Line: 1-800-551-5554
Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) strengthens our community by fighting for justice. We provide low-income clients with free civil legal assistance, including legal advice and counsel, effective referrals, and legal representation. We are the largest civil legal aid provider serving seven Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.
Our Consumer Rights Unit helps clients with issues including: fair credit reporting, fair debt collection practices, student loan collections, federal student loan consolidation and discharge assistance, unfair and deceptive advertising of financial products and services, credit access and inaccurate reporting, and enforcement of other consumer rights and remedies.
East Bay Community Law Center
Phone: 1-510-548-4040
EBCLC’s mission is to promote justice and build a community that is more secure, productive, healthy, and hopeful by (1) providing free legal services and policy advocacy that is responsive to the needs of communities living with low income, and (2) law training that prepares future attorneys to be skilled and principled advocates, who are committed to addressing the causes and conditions of racial and economic injustice and poverty.
We are grounded in our Women of Color-Centered (WOCC) Platform, which launched in January of 2021 and emphasizes uncompromisingly supporting women of color, who are our largest client base (53%).
Established in 1988, the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is a community-based, women of color-led organization that primarily serves Black and Brown communities and women of color residing in Alameda County, and solidly centers racial equity within our own organizational practices.
The Consumer Justice Program (CJP) is committed to protecting and restoring consumer rights, defending against predatory lending practices and debt lawsuits and providing community education to inform consumers of their rights, with a specific focus on underserved and BIPOC communities. Additionally, CJP engages in consumer rights related policy advocacy.
CJP has been providing student loan debt assistance since its inception in 1988. Through legal services, public education, outreach, and training, CJP provides student borrowers with accurate information to ensure that they know their rights and options, and individualized legal assistance at no cost if needed.
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
Phone: 1-510-271-8443
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) is the only California statewide, non-profit legal service and advocacy organization with the mission of ensuring that all people are protected from discrimination and economic abuses. HERA works with California residents across the state, primarily in the Bay Area and Central California.
Recently, we have resumed increasing our presence in Southern California, and have conducted strong outreach in the Riverside/Imperial Valley area, as well as in Los Angeles and along the Central Coast.
We focus on the most vulnerable, including but not limited to lower-income people, the elderly, immigrants, people of color, service members and veterans, and people with disabilities. The majority of our clients are women, and almost 70% identified as people of color in 2020. We serve a large number of Californians who do not speak English, and we work with residents no matter their immigration status. Many of HERA’s clients are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, experience unemployment and homelessness, and live in rural areas.
HERA was formed in 2005 to fill a gap in legal services. The Executive Director and founder observed that most legal aids do not work on debt and credit issues, or the work is limited. HERA helps close that gap, providing free legal services focused on household debt and credit to free up income for housing and other basic needs. HERA addresses another gap: legal services for tenants who are not facing eviction but are being forced from their home by illegal rent increases, habitability problems, harassment, failures to reasonably accommodate tenants’ disabilities and more. In 2017, we added estate planning on a sliding scale to help address wealth disparities by helping vulnerable homeowners keep the family home and pass it to their loved ones in communities where estate planning is often inaccessible.
International Rescue Committee, Inc. in Sacramento
Phone: 916-482-0120
https://www.rescue.org/united-states/sacramento-ca
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sacramento helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives, which includes supporting the Sacramento community’s financial capability and wellness.
As the lead contracted partner for the City of Sacramento’s Financial Empowerment Center, the IRC in Sacramento provides no-cost, one-on-one financial coaching to residents aged 18 and older in Sacramento in several formats: phone, video chat, and in-person. The IRC in Sacramento also provides no-cost, one-on-one student loan counseling to any student loan borrower in repayment in the Sacramento region and surrounding areas in these same formats.
Koreatown Youth and Community Center Inc
Phone: 1-213-365-7400
KYCC’s mission is to serve the evolving needs of the Korean American population in the Greater Los Angeles area as well as the multi-ethnic Koreatown community. KYCC’s programs and services are directed toward recently immigrated, economically disadvantaged youth and families, and promote community socioeconomic empowerment. With 48 years of experience, KYCC is a leading multi-service organization offering support in the areas of education, health, housing, and finances.
1. Community Economic Development provides financial case management and education for low-income families to attain financial stability.
2. Kids Town Preschool provides early childhood education for young children.
3. Youth Services provides academic assistance, leadership development, mentoring and enrichment for children and youth.
4. Housing Services provides Rapid Re-housing services for the homeless population, tenant case management services, and 209 units of affordable housing and over 180 units currently in development.
5. Clinical Services provides culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services for children and families.
6. Prevention Education reduces substance abuse and advocates for a safe and healthy community.
7. Recovery Services provides outpatient substance use services to youth and adults.
8. Environmental Services focuses on community beautification to improve quality of life.
9. Enhanced Care Management Services provides case management for Medi-Cal members who are facing complex medical and psychosocial challenges.
KYCC primarily serves Koreatown and surrounding neighborhoods, including Pico Union and Westlake. In 2022, KYCC served almost 7,000 individuals at ten locations and ten affordable housing projects. Ethnically, our clients were 37% Asian and Pacific Islanders, 52% Latino, 7% African American, 3% Whilte, and 1% other. Clients were 96% low-income, very low-income, and extremely low-income. Most participants are first generation immigrants from Asia and Latin America. All KYCC services are provided in Spanish, Korean and English and represent a comprehensive, multipronged “Whole Family” approach to working with Koreatown’s low-income families.
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Phone: 1-800-399-4529
Founded in 1929, LAFLA strives to achieve equal justice for people living in poverty in Los Angeles County, changing lives through direct representation, systems change, and community education and empowerment. LAFLA is a nonprofit law firm that protects and advances the rights of the most underserved, ensuring that everyone can have access to the justice system.
Each year, LAFLA helps more than 100,000 people across the Greater Los Angeles region in various civil legal matters. LAFLA’s unique combination of neighborhood offices, self-help centers at courthouses, and domestic violence clinics puts LAFLA on the forefront of change and on the frontlines in vulnerable communities.
LAFLA strives to promote safety, security, and health; support families; preserve quality and affordable housing; maintain economic stability; protect human and civil rights; serve populations with special vulnerabilities including unhoused individuals, immigrants, and non-English speakers; and address racial justice and equity.
Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino
Phone: 1-909-889-7328
For over six decades, the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino (LASSB) has stood as a pillar of commitment and progress, serving the communities of San Bernardino and Riverside County. In the past three years, we’ve assisted 43,509 individuals or 18144 households, championing their rights across diverse legal challenges. Our clients come from a rich tapestry of backgrounds, with 52% of Hispanic heritage, 24% identifying as Black, 17% as White, and 7% falling into other categories. Among those we serve, 4% are veterans, and 22% have disabilities.
Our mission is rooted in providing vital legal counsel, educational support, and comprehensive representation, ensuring universal access to justice. We serve seniors and low-income individuals, exemplifying our commitment to equal justice.
LASSB acts as a bridge across the justice divide, offering essential free legal services, including helplines, consultations, document preparation, and representation. We also provide informative resources and training opportunities.
Our vision is clear: we aspire to create a more just and inclusive Inland Empire. We focus on marginalized populations, including impoverished individuals, seniors, veterans, disabled individuals, LGBTQ community members, immigrants, and those facing legal system disparities.
At our core, we empower communities through equitable access to the judicial system via legal education, counseling, and advocacy, regardless of financial means. We envision a society where poverty is not a barrier, ensuring equal access to justice for all.
Legal Aid Society of San Diego
Phone: 1-877-534-2524
The Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) is a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services to qualifying lower income San Diego residents. The mission of LASSD is to improve lives by advancing justice through effective, efficient, and vigorous legal advocacy, outreach, and education.
As a member of the Student Loan Empowerment Network, LASSD will empower its clients to achieve economic stability and financial freedom by reducing or eliminating the financial burden associated with student loans.
Lutheran Social Services of Southern California
Phone: 1-714-685-1800
Lutheran Social Services of Southern California (LSSSC) was founded in 1944 when local congregations formed a non-sectarian Lutheran Welfare Commission at the tail end of World War II to address post-war hardships among veterans and families. This led to the launch of LSSSC’s first emergency assistance program and solidified the agency’s mission to live out God’s love by embracing, equipping, and empowering vulnerable individuals, families, and communities toward self-sufficiency. Since then, LSSSC has grown to one of the largest human service organizations in Southern California, offering 40 various programs across 17 community care centers by delivering comprehensive and integrated emergency, transitional, and preventative social services.
Currently, LSSSC holds fifty-three contracts with government entities in six major Southern California counties, including Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. Program services include Emergency Assistance; Housing Services; Care Coordination; Community Education and Support; Health, Wellness and Recovery; Senior Services; Services for Individuals with Disabilities; Educational Services, Financial Services, and Workforce Development.
Since the onboarding of LSSSC’s new CEO, Dr. LaSharnda Beckwith in 2020, the agency re-examined existing service capacities to determine pathways for long-term sufficiency and sustained transformation in the communities we serve. Under her leadership, LSSSC launched various program services that addressed the root causes of systemic inequities, such as launching affordable housing development projects, mobile care delivery models, workforce development services, and early education initiatives (Head Start), including LSSSC’s pursuit of the Student Loan Empowerment Program through DFPI.
As an agency, we understand that breaking the cycle of poverty within families and communities requires collaboration and integration of equitable access to resources and community support. By establishing a community safety net, LSSSC aims to expand current financial empowerment initiatives to incorporate student loan education and coordination services to reach underserved students and post-graduates within low-income communities.
MyPath
Phone: 1-415-206-0846 ext 238
Regarded as the nation’s leading expert in youth financial capability, MyPath creates pathways for upward economic mobility by connecting youth and young adults with opportunities to gain foundational financial education, bank, and build savings, credit and financial confidence. Serving San Francisco County, Alameda County, Santa Clara County, and San Mateo County.
Our target client is a young adult ages 18-30 because we empower young adults with higher education debt to make informed financial decisions, ultimately improving their financial well-being and reducing the burden of student loan debt.
MyPath offers support with Loan Repayment Options, Loan Forgiveness, Cancellation, and Discharge, Loan Consolidation, Deferment and Forbearance, Resolving issues with Loan Services and Lenders, Default Resolution, and General Financial Education and Financial Counseling.
Public Counsel
Phone: 1-213-385-2977
Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles. Public Counsel operates eight legal projects: Children’s Rights, Community Development, Consumer Rights & Economic Justice, Homelessness Prevention, Immigrants’ Rights, Veterans’ Rights, the Audrey Irmas Gender Justice Project, and our impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law.
Public Counsel’s Consumer Rights and Economic Justice project focuses on addressing economic disparity for underserved communities throughout Los Angeles County. We handle a wide array of consumer matters, including predatory lending, debt collection, student loans, homeownership preservation, foreclosure, criminal system debt, consumer fraud, and unfair business practices.
The Cambodian Family
Phone: 1-714-571-1966
The Cambodian Family (TCF) is a nonprofit, community-based organization that was formed in 1980 when Cambodian refugees first settled in America after escaping the horrors of war and genocide in their homeland. Beginning in 1980, these refugees settled in Santa Ana’s impoverished Minnie Street neighborhood, an area with a history of high crime rates, gang activity, and drugs. Feeling compelled to address the desperate needs of their community, a small group of the more skilled and knowledgeable Cambodian refugees came together, pooled their resources, and took action. They rented a small apartment and volunteered their time teaching English and providing other critical resettlement services to help their fellow community members overcome their recent trauma, learn new skills, and move forward with their lives.
TCF’s mission is to provide opportunities for refugee and immigrant families to develop the knowledge, skills, and desires for creating better health and well-being in their lives. Over the years, TCF services have been expanded to immigrants and refugees from all over the world.
TCF has successfully managed more than $35 million of public and private funding to implement programs in the areas of community health and mental health, youth development, financial empowerment, youth substance use disorder prevention, civic engagement, and immigration. TCF staff have developed broad expertise and trust in helping clients prevent issues with and manage their health and well-being.
In FY2023, TCF reached over 41,000 community members and provided approximately 28,000 direct services to over 7,900 unduplicated clients. TCF serves a very diverse population, with 60% of TCF clients of Southeast Asian descent (mostly Cambodians), 35% Latinx, and 5% other ethnicities. TCF staff speak multiple languages, including English, Khmer (Cambodian), Spanish, Cham (Muslim Cambodians), and Vietnamese.