Operation HOPE Continues Streak of Impressive Growth With Release of 2023 Impacts

54 new HOPE Inside offices opened, for a total of 285 offices serving 1,800+ locations throughout the U.S.

$130 million in mortgages secured to low- and- moderate-income homebuyers through its partnership with Fulton Bank, adding to $1.1 billion total

Over 220,000 Black businesses supported through partnership with Shopify, upping total to 388,703 businesses served since 2020 launch

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Operation HOPE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping low-and moderate-income Americans thrive in an ever-changing economy, announced its top-line results for 2023. Operation HOPE continued its impressive streak of growth by expanding its national footprint of HOPE Inside locations, growing its portfolio of top-tier partner organizations, and serving a record number of clients. Operation HOPE uses its HOPE Inside locations to deliver no-charge financial coaching to individuals in the community or at work.

Key results from 2023 include:

IMPACTS

• HOPE Inside locations increased by 19%, finishing at a total of 285 offices, up from 231 at the end of 2022. As a result, Operation HOPE:
  • Delivered 278,369 financial coaching services to 56,793 individual clients.
  • Raised client credit scores by an average of 41 points, with 25% of clients seeing an increase between 51-100 points.
  • Reduced median client debt by $1,892.
  • Increased median client savings by $1,116.
• Improved financial health and behaviors for our clients:
  • 21% of clients now have 3 months of savings for an emergency, versus 11% before working with our coaches.
  • Reduced the number of unbanked and underbanked clients from 22.9% to 12.4%.
• Secured $130.7 million in funded mortgages for low- and moderate-income homebuyers, through our partnership with Fulton Bank, with nearly $1 million in closing cost assistance obtained. Since 2016, over $1.1 billion in mortgages have been secured through this partnership.
• Supported over 220,000 unique Black-owned businesses through its HOPE Inside network and 1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB) initiative partners, upping the total to 388,703 businesses served since 1MBB was launched in 2020. This accounts for approximately 12.5% of all Black-owned businesses in the U.S.
• $54 million in accessed capital for HOPE clients utilized for small businesses, personal loans, and lines of credit.
• With a new cohort of incoming Kindergarten students, over 7,100 Child Savings Accounts with more than $360,000 in deposits have been opened since the HOPE Child Savings Account (CSA) program launch in 2021. In partnership with the City of Atlanta, the program is designed to support the city’s most at-risk students in their post-secondary pursuits.
• Provided over $125,000 in emergency housing support through our partnership with Airbnb to support residents of Maui impacted by the wildfires, while assisting over 3,000 individuals and small business owners with their post-disaster financial recovery.

PARTNERSHIP COMMITMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Launched The 1865 Project, to grow and scale its work leveling the economic playing field for underserved Americans. The Project raised nearly $10 million in commitments since its launch in July. Founding Circle members include Bank of America, McDonald’s, PNC, Truist, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and the Wing 2 Wing Foundation, founded by former Intuit CEO and current Marshall University President Brad Smith.
• Wells Fargo expanded its commitment to 50 HOPE Inside locations in markets throughout the U.S.
• Pfizer launched HOPE Inside the Workplace coaches to serve employees at facilities in North Carolina and Kansas. HOPE and Pfizer rapidly adjusted to also deliver disaster support after a tornado hit the Rocky Mount, NC office.
• Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced their commitment to Operation HOPE’s 1 Million Black Business Initiative at the 2023 HOPE Global Forums.
• The Venetian Resort Las Vegas committed to the financial wellness of all Team Members by launching a HOPE Inside the Workplace.
• Experian launched a HOPE Inside partnership for military personnel and their families.
• UPS committed to expanding the “HOPE-in-a-Hub” employee financial wellness program nationwide and advanced its commitment to supporting disaster survivors throughout the country.
• Santander committed to the expansion of the City Year - Santander - HOPE Young Adult financial empowerment program to 27 cities across the country.
• Bank of America committed to supporting One Million Black Businesses and the expansion of its HOPE Inside locations.
• U.S. Bank committed to advancing their national expansion with six additional HOPE Inside locations, including five in California.
• KeyBank opened its first three HOPE Inside locations focused on homeownership, including HOPE's first location in Washington state and HOPE's first location in upstate New York.
• Clayton Homes committed to advancing the HOPE digital platform.
• Increased donations from private foundations, high net wealth donors, and individuals by 75%, closing 2023 at $2.21 million.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Delta Air Lines released a white paper that quantified the improvement of their employee’s financial wellbeing as a result of its partnership with Operation HOPE.
• Open AI CEO Sam Altman and John Hope Bryant announced an AI Ethics Council, with the aim to give voice to communities of color and other groups who will be most impacted by the A.I. revolution.
• Dow Jones, parent of the Wall Street Journal, announced a new financial literacy initiative with Operation HOPE as a launch partner. The new initiative was part of Dow Jones’ commitment to the Financial Literacy for All initiative.
• The Financial Literacy for All Initiative, led by Co-Chairs Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, and Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant, continued to gain momentum, with additional top-tier organizations joining this 10-year movement to embed financial literacy into American culture. Recently announced organizations include McDonald’s, Paramount, American Express, Dow Jones, and Moderna.
• The 2023 HOPE Global Forums | Annual Meeting reached a record in-person attendance of 5,600 from 30 countries and a combined viewership of 5.1 million.

RESEARCH

• Operation HOPE announced the results from its newly launched “HOPE Insider", the largest survey of its clients ever conducted, that provided key insights into American financial sentiment relating to housing, debt, small business ownership, work, and general economic optimism.
• U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert L. Santos announced a data-sharing partnership with Operation HOPE, which will enable Operation HOPE to better tell the story of America’s underserved communities and aspiring business owners.

RECOGNITION

• The 1MBB initiative was recognized by Fast Company as a “2023 World Changing Idea”.
• Operation HOPE received its 10th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, which included a 100% rating in Accountability and Finance.

A full Annual Report highlighting Operation HOPE’s impacts will be available at the end of March.

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. 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 $4.2 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: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on X.