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Financial wellness has been a focus for public agencies for many years, but even more so in the wake of COVID-19 and budget crises many workers face today. In 2020, the Water Authority received the State and Local Government Financial Wellness Grant to develop and offer a financial wellness program. The Water Authority’s grant proposal extended not only to its employees, but employees of member agencies as well. The Water Authority was one of 24 agencies nationwide who received the grant, and one of two agencies in California. The State and Local Government Financial Wellness Grant is administered via a collaboration of the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), The International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), and the National Association of State Treasurers Foundation (NASTF), with the support of the Wells Fargo Foundation.

The goal of the Water Authority financial wellness grant program is to promote sound financial habits and encourage long-lasting changes to help water industry personnel gain and maintain financial health. The Water Authority partnered with Enrich to provide their financial literacy platform to all employees and employees of member agencies.

The grant also included a financial wellness workshop series, available to employees and their family members, with incentive prizes. Several remote lunchtime workshops were held, with average attendance of 60 employees at each session and an average 95% high satisfaction evaluation.