ATLANTA, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Financial Literacy for All, a national initiative to support embedding financial literacy into American culture, today announced the next wave of prominent private sector companies who are committing their organizations to the movement.

Denison Yachting and Edward Jones have joined other top-tier organizations including founding members Walmart, Disney, NFL, NBA, Delta Air Lines, Walgreens, Bank of America, Khan Academy, PayPal and Ares Management, and key members BlackRock, FICO, First Horizon Bank, iHeart Media, Mastercard, NASCAR, Nasdaq, Nextdoor, NIKE, Santander, Shopify, TIME for Kids, Truist, Uber and U.S. Bank as part of this first-of-its-kind coalition.

“We are honored that our newest members, whose reach extends across every segment of society, have elected to lend their influential voice to this cause,” said John Hope Bryant, Founder and CEO of Operation HOPE. “We look forward to partnering with Denison Yachting, Edward Jones and Wells Fargo to grow our impact as we continue to work helping everyone build a better future for themselves and their families.”

Launched May 20, 2021, this 10-year commitment co-chaired by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Atlanta-based Operation HOPE, Inc., will reach millions of youth and working adults enabling them to achieve greater financial success for themselves and their families. Underscoring the need for financial capability, the National Financial Educators Council estimates that financial illiteracy costs American families an estimated $415 billion each year.

To follow the progress of “Financial Literacy for All,” please visit FL4A.org.

About Edward Jones:

Edward Jones, a FORTUNE 500 firm headquartered in St. Louis, provides financial services in the U.S. and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm’s business, from the investments its financial advisors offer to the location of its branch offices caters to individual investors and businesses. The firm’s nearly 19,000 financial advisors serve more than 7 million clients with a total of $1.8 trillion in assets under care. The Edward Jones website is www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

At Edward Jones, we believe in the power of financial knowledge and a personal approach to build long-lasting financial strength. That’s why we create deep relationships and provide tailored resources to educate and support people in creating intergenerational wealth for themselves and those around them. This philosophy comes to life in many ways, including our Financial Fitness program, designed to address financial health among younger generations, and our Grassroots Task Force, which serves as our voice for the individual investor in our nation’s capital.About Denison Yachting:

An American yachting family since 1948 specializing in superyacht, new boat, brokerage, charter, crew and more.

SOURCE Operation HOPE, Inc.

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By Monica B., Enmerlin P., Cheryl W., Sue B.

On April 5th, 2022, members of BlackRock’s Financial Inclusion Team (FIT) were invited to join Operation HOPE and Financial Literacy for All (FL4ALL) as they rang the NASDAQ opening bell. We were the four lucky FIT members who did!

While the Opening Bell Ceremony was a spectacular and memorable event, it was the words of Operation HOPE’s CEO, John Hope Bryant, that resonated most within us. Operation Hope is a movement to eradicate poverty for all people. John Hope Bryant’s purpose is clear and compelling: Raising awareness about economic inequality, and providing access to financial education for individuals and small businesses to expand economic opportunity and make free enterprise work better for everyone. This purpose is notably aligned with the core valuesandmissionofFIT.WelefttheceremonyinspiredanddeterminedtofindwaysforBlackRock’sinfluence and resources to be used to promote financial dignity to underserved communities.

The NASDAQ event inspired us to talk more about the meaning of financial dignity and financial literacy. We discussed multiple ideas, such as a curriculum that could guide individuals through understanding their personal financial narrative, as well as help, regulate their financial choices while personalizing, humanizing, redefining, and reconstructing the fundamental components of financial wellness. As our conversation evolved, it became evident that knowledge alone is not enough. We must ensure that those offering financial education to these communities are doing so from a position of understanding and reliability.

Our own personal stories, as well as that of John Hope Bryant, highlight the importance of having an impactful and relatable message. To help marginalized communities meaningfully, it is crucial for educators to find common ground and create safe spaces for conversations surrounding personal finance. For John Hope Bryant, it was an individual that came into his classroom in Compton, California that delivered a life-altering message that placed him on this journey. This guest speaker made him aware of future possibilities which were previously unfathomable. At the time, John didn’t know what an entrepreneur was, and he was unaware of the many alternate paths to success. [1] This pioneering speaker entered a Compton classroom and set in motion a powerful ripple effect, greatly impacting the life of John Hope Bryant and, in time, hundreds of thousands of other individuals who have now been touched by Operation HOPE.

We may not recognize it, but we all have the opportunity to become changemakers within our families and communities. For Monica, her father was an educator and the inspiration for change. For Cheryl, a financial literacy program in high school built upon the knowledge that she had already learned from her entrepreneurial parents. For Enmerlin, her grandparents set the standards for having open conversations about money. And for Susan, the foundation of her upbringing was based on education across all facets.

Building a strong foundation around financial literacy provides the opportunity to create exponential change within underserved communities. Establishing a financial literacy curriculum is a wonderful first step in creating pathways of connectivity. However, as FIT members, it is our responsibility to deliver this message in a way that is relatable and empathetic to the communities we hope to serve. This must be done by providing tailored guidance to community members on how to navigate a complicated financial system. We must also establish crossroads between BlackRock and community leaders to create a pipeline for students to develop financial awareness, visit our offices, experience our culture, and imagine all the possibilities.

Using BlackRock’s influence, resources, and reputation, we are committed to creating vital partnerships with internal and external organizations. If we succeed, we can maximize the impact of a financial literacy outreach program. Having the support of trusted members of these communities will also contribute to our success. It will give us the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the challenges they are facing, build our own relationships within multiple communities, perfect our message, and increase our impact.

[1] For more about John Hope Bryant’s inspirational story and message, read his books: Love Leadership (2009); How the Poor Can Save Capitalism (2014); The Memo: Five Rules for your Economic Liberation (2017): and Up from Nothing: The Untold Story of How We All Succeed (2020)

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ATLANTA – September 16, 2021 – Operation HOPE today announced that TIME for Kids is joining Financial Literacy for All (FL4A), a coalition dedicated to embedding financial literacy within American culture. Launched in May, FL4A is fueled by leaders from business, sports, media, entertainment, nonprofits and the public sector who have made a ten-year commitment to the initiative, co-chaired by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and John Hope Bryant, Founder and CEO of Operation HOPE. Built on the legacy of the global media brand TIME, TIME for Kids has delivered age-appropriate news and current-events content to millions of students in elementary and middle school classrooms across the U.S. for the last 25 years.

As part of this first-of-its-kind coalition, TIME for Kids joins BlackRock, FICO, First Horizon Bank, Mastercard, Nextdoor, Santander, Truist, and US Bank, along with FL4A founding members Ares Management, Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Disney, Khan Academy, the NFL, the NBA, Walgreens, and Walmart. TIME for Kids’ involvement complements FL4A’s existing efforts to promote greater financial well-being among American working adults and young people. 

TIME for Kids is immersing tomorrow’s leaders in conversations about today’s world in the way that youth like to learn. Through its unique platform, the company is helping families better understand the news and connect in meaningful ways.

“TIME for Kids’ mission is to enable kids to become critical thinkers and join the conversation about news and current events,” said Keith A. Grossman, President of TIME. “As part of this mission, we want every kid to be empowered with the resources they need to be financially literate. We are thrilled to join the Financial Literacy for All initiative to make that possible.”

According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, the majority of US workers – regardless of income– are living paycheck to paycheck, which indicates a need for improved financial literacy. Many Americans are spending most, or all, of their monthly income on expenses. Once essentials are paid, there is no money left over for savings, and many lack an overall understanding of financial well-being. Underscoring the need for FL4A, the National Financial Educators Council also estimates that financial illiteracy costs American families an estimated $415 billion each year. 

“Our commitment to providing financial literacy for all, regardless of income or socioeconomic status, can create a sustainable framework of success and equity for future generations,” said Operation HOPE Founder, CEO and Chairman John Hope Bryant. “This is not just about the economy, this is social justice work. Through FL4A, our mission is to make the American dream available to all.”

Since its launch, Financial Literacy for All has:

• Forged an agreement on best practices and strategic rollout to all demographic groups at a plenary session hosted by the Disney Institute and Operation HOPE. Senior leaders from committed partner companies examined historical approaches to financial literacy, shared their experiences and outlined an actionable vision to develop a best practice model to reach all Americans.

• Posted a Resource Directory of nonprofits and agencies currently offering best-in-class resources in the financial literacy space, which will be periodically updated. The free directory is available on the FL4A website.

For more Information, visit, www.FL4A.org.

About TIME for Kids

Since 1995, TIME for Kids has delivered age-appropriate news and current-events content to millions of students in elementary and middle school classrooms across the U.S, and, since 2020, to homes, to keep kids learning, help them understand the news, and connect them to the world. Each week, TIME for Kids presents news in a format that teaches young readers to become critical thinkers and informed citizens. As an educational publication, the mission of TIME for Kids is to help teachers and parents engage kids with the world around them and inspire them to join the conversation about current events.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Media Contacts:

Kristin Matzen, TIME

Kristin.matzen@time.com 

FL4A Partner Inquiries:                                                   

Kevin Boucher, Operation HOPE

kevin.boucher@operationhope.org

(213) 479-7833                                      

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To combat the growing financial literacy gap, Chairman Bryant, along with other executives from some of America’s leading institutions, launched the Financial Literacy for All initiative, with the aim of embedding financial literacy into the very fiber and framework of our nation.

Listen below for the complete interview and then visit fl4a.org to learn more and get involved.

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