A core pillar of promoting and sustaining widespread access to credit is ensuring high levels of financial literacy. Unfortunately, the U.S. lags behind many other countries in financial literacy, meaning millions of Americans lack the resources they need to chart a healthier financial future. But thanks to nonprofit organizations like Operation HOPE — which collaborates with financial institutions, corporations, municipal agencies, and community organizations to help low- and mid-income Americans achieve financial independence — credit education is available more widely than ever before. And FICO has made credit education a core pillar of our Financial Inclusion Initiative, helping consumers learn more about their credit and achieve their dreams.
Financial Literacy for All
FICO is taking a number of steps to promote credit education and financial independence alongside our partners at Operation HOPE. Most recently, we were one of a number of decorated companies to join Financial Literacy for All, a national initiative to support embedding financial literacy into American culture. With the support of a group of founding members that includes Walmart, Disney, the National Football League, and Delta Air Lines, FICO and the Financial Literacy for All initiative will reach 5 million working adults, 15 million family members, and 50 million individuals overall over the next ten years by engaging Americans where they learn, work and celebrate with actionable financial literacy materials.
Operation HOPE Global Board of Advisors
FICO chief executive officer Will Lansing recently joined the Global Board of Advisors of Operation HOPE. In his capacity as a member of the Global Board of Advisors, Mr. Lansing will continue to further FICO’s commitment to financial inclusion alongside esteemed industry leaders across the financial services sector. Joining the HOPE board further highlights FICO’s focus on analytic innovation and credit education to responsibly expand credit access.
HOPE Inside
FICO has also partnered with John Hope Bryant and his team on HOPE Inside, a scalable, award-winning program which has helped more than 4 million Americans reach financial independence. In addition to educating Americans about their finances – a longtime focus for FICO – Operation HOPE brings credit counseling to communities free of charge. Core programs include credit and money management, homeownership preparedness and small business entrepreneurship. This partnership enables the HOPE Inside financial well-being coaches at more than 100 locations across the U.S. to share FICO® Scores with clients for free and to provide key insights to enable them to better understand their financial health.
Score A Better Future
Operation HOPE has been a national partner of FICO’s Score A Better Future program since its inception in 2018. Partnering together to demystify the credit journey for consumers and help them take control of their financial health, the program has collectively reached thousands of consumers to help them build personalized roadmaps to meet their financial goals. Participants at our events learn about the key ingredients in the FICO® Score and receive free, one-on-one counseling from certified credit counselors tailored to their individual financial health and goals.
To find a Score A Better Future event near you, or for more information on FICO and Operation Hope’s work together, please visit: www.scoreabetterfuture.com.
