Scaling Financial Empowerment

2010’s

United Way of the Bay Area

In the late 2000s, more than one in four Bay Area households lacked access to safe and affordable banking services. The unbanked and underbanked faced high fees, financial insecurity, and few opportunities to build credit or wealth. United Way of the Bay Area was tasked with leading the region’s implementation of Bank on California—a statewide initiative to help low-income residents open bank accounts and build financial stability.

Challenge

Coordinate a sprawling network of partners across six counties, manage a multi-million-dollar program, and deliver measurable impact in a high-cost, high-need region.

Approach

As Program Manager, Stacy Towles implemented a strategic framework rooted in cross-sector collaboration, financial empowerment, and community trust.

Key components of her approach included:

• Coalition Building: She established working relationships with 12 major banks (including Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America), 72 nonprofit agencies, and state and local government leaders.

• Capacity Building: She created a comprehensive technical assistance model to help partner agencies scale financial literacy programming across county lines.

• Program Management: Stacy supervised a small but mighty internal team and coordinated 100+ volunteers. She also served as the primary liaison to the Board of Directors and four strategic committees—Marketing, IT, Data, and Strategic Partnerships.

• Performance & Communication: She wrote grants and funder reports, analyzed program data to measure effectiveness, and developed a cadence of success storytelling to keep policymakers, press, and financial partners engaged.

Results

Stacy’s leadership produced tangible and lasting impact:

• 8,000+ new bank accounts opened by residents previously excluded from the mainstream financial system.

• Program operations expanded to six counties, thanks to the tailored technical assistance she designed and delivered.

• Stacy managed a $1.1M annual budget, exceeding program targets while maximizing efficiency and transparency.

• She represented the initiative at over 200 public events, news interviews, and press briefings, significantly increasing public awareness and community engagement.

Her work at United Way remains a benchmark for coalition-driven capacity building in financial inclusion and was awarded recognition by the Governor of California.