Overview

Better outcomes require more than access to capital, they require the knowledge, systems, tools, and relationships to use it effectively. The Public Finance Institute’s capacity-building and learning programs help leaders and institutions strengthen these capabilities so they can make more informed financial decisions, align resources with priorities, and translate capital into lasting investments for people and places.

Capacity Building & Learning that Leads to Action

We design programs for the realities of public-sector and place-based work, combining practical tools, peer learning, expert guidance, and applied problem-solving. Our programs may include workshops, cohort-based learning, self-service resources, facilitated peer exchanges, and hands-on support that creates opportunities for participants to learn from both subject-matter experts and one another.

We see public finance as more than the traditional management of government revenues, expenditures, debt, and budgets. Our integrated lens brings together the parts of the capital and investment ecosystem that are often considered separately, including community development, philanthropy, private investment, infrastructure, and local economic development, to understand how they can work together. By connecting these traditionally siloed systems, we help leaders identify opportunities to align resources, expand their financing options, and achieve greater impact for people and places. Our learning programs, thus, are often broader than those found at other institutions and cover themes that are foundational to emerging innovations like:

• New Market Tax Credits
• Philanthropic Program Related Investments & Guarantees
• Municipal Bonds & Notes
• Capital Planning
• The Basics of Public Finance
• Funding Nature Based Solutions
• Funding Climate Mitigation & Adaptation

Our Process

Our learning programs are designed to be highly experiential, translating complex concepts in public finance into practical knowledge that leaders can apply in their own communities and institutions. Programs combine action-oriented learning, practical templates and tools, and field-based case studies with the deep expertise of our staff and leadership—who bring decades of experience teaching and applying some of the most challenging concepts in public finance at leading universities and in practice. The result is learning that moves beyond theory, giving participants the knowledge, tools, and confidence to put new ideas into action.

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Partnerships & Collaboration

We design custom learning programs for foundations, nonprofits, and other mission-driven organizations seeking to deepen their understanding of public finance and its role in advancing community outcomes. We have developed bespoke programs for foundation staff, interdisciplinary cohorts of government leaders exploring issues at the intersection of justice and equity, climate and resilience, and critical infrastructure sector challenges such as housing. We also specialize in helping philanthropy understand the public finance ecosystem in which its capital operates, equipping funders and their grantees to identify strategic opportunities, align resources, and leverage public and private capital more effectively.

Across our portfolio, we are building a different kind of learning and capacity-building practice, one that connects the technical dimensions of public finance with the lived realities and ambitions of the places we serve. We bring together rigorous knowledge, practical tools, field-based experience, and the perspectives of diverse practitioners to help leaders not only understand how capital works, but see new possibilities for how it can work differently.

Lourdes German
Chief Executive Officer
The Public Finance Institute

Our Body of Work

Since 2020, our predecessor non-profit organization, the Public Finance Initiative, provided education and capacity building programs to hundreds of leaders in conferences and programs in the U.S. and abroad, including for example:

• The Just City Mayoral Fellowship
• AmericaFWD Community of Practice
• The U.S. Conference of Mayors
• The National League of Cities University
• The National League of Cities City Summit
• The What Works Cities Certification Program
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In addition to our efforts to build knowledge in the field through conferences and events like the ones above, we also host capacity building sessions within our signature programs and have developed self-service resources to support leaders who want to learn on their own, in ways that can inspire them to take action. We also have extensive experience developing bespoke learning and capacity building programs that provide targeted learnings to small and large groups, including foundations, non-profits, and public or private sector actors.