Operation HOPE Receives Commitments From U.S. Bank, UPS, and Fifth Third Bank to Support Financial Counseling Services for Individuals and Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Operation HOPE today announced that U.S. Bank, UPS, and Fifth Third Bank have made financial commitments to support Operation HOPE’s efforts to provide financial coaching for individuals and small businesses affected by the nationwide economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will support HOPE Inside Disaster, the centralized arm of Operation HOPE’s national disaster and preparedness division that provides free virtual financial coaching services to those affected by COVID-19, with a focus on individuals, families and small businesses in low- to moderate-income communities.

Operation HOPE was one of three national partners to receive a commitment from U.S. Bank as part of its comprehensive response efforts to support its employees, customers and communities, which total $60 million. U.S. Bank has been a partner of Operation HOPE for a decade, and later this year, Operation HOPE is scheduled to open HOPE Inside at two U.S. Bank locations in Denver and Chicago. Prior to this recent commitment for HOPE Inside Disaster, UPS has been a longstanding partner to Operation HOPE since 2013, through Operation HOPE-provided financial wellness programming for UPS employees and UPS-provided grants and in-kind services to support previous HOPE Inside Disaster relief efforts. Fifth Third Bank has also been a longstanding partner to Operation HOPE, which includes support for HOPE Inside programming in Detroit that provides financial literacy, entrepreneurship training and small business technical assistance throughout Detroit communities.

“Since announcing the activation of HOPE Inside Disaster for those financially impacted by the coronavirus last week, Operation HOPE has received tremendous support from our corporate partners that want to work with us to help alleviate the stress and uncertainty for individuals and small businesses affected by this unprecedented national crisis,” said John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Operation HOPE. “We are proud to partner with U.S. Bank, UPS, and Fifth Third Bank on this effort, and are humbled by their continued confidence in Operation HOPE to be there for the many Americans facing job or income loss, small business disruption and/or credit issues today, as we have for so many years and in response to so many other crisis situations before.”

For more than 19 years, Operation HOPE has activated HOPE Inside Disaster in times of need, and it is one of the nation’s first lines of response for financial recovery to support individuals facing the reality of job loss, business interruption, credit issues, and debt.

HOPE Inside Disaster’s free virtual financial services for those impacted by

COVID-19 include:

• Small business support / SBA lending
• Consumer credit / debt deferment
• Homeownership mortgage deferment / foreclosure prevention
• Student loan deferment
• Financial disaster budget planning
• Money management education
• Credit counseling
• Gateway to newly announced federal assistance programs (FEMA)
• Basic needs referrals: food, shelter, clothing

To access these services, impacted individuals and small businesses are encouraged to call the HOPE Inside Disaster hotline at 1-888-388-HOPE (4673) or visit the HOPE Inside Disaster website to be connected with a financial disaster recovery specialist who will assess their situation and provide personalized coaching and assistance.

Created following 9/11, HOPE Inside Disaster, powered by HOPE Coalition America (HCA) and Operation HOPE, is one of the leading financial emergency preparedness and recovery services in the U.S. Through partnerships with the American Red Cross, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and industry leaders, HOPE teams deploy in response to federally declared disasters to serve as a financial advocate for affected homeowners, renters, and small business owners. HOPE financial wellbeing coaches help impacted individuals and small businesses mitigate credit issues, develop emergency budget counseling, communicate with creditors, obtain Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, prevent foreclosure, and prepare for the future.

Organizations that wish to provide financial or in-kind support to HOPE Inside Disaster may contact Mary Ehrsam, President of HOPE Partnerships, at 646-496-7449 or [e-mail].

To learn more about HOPE Inside Disaster, visit https://www.hopeinsidecovid19.org/recovery

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 our 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. Project 5117 is our multi-year four-pronged approach to combating economic inequality that aims to improve financial literacy, increase business role models and business internships for youth in underserved communities, and stabilize the American dream by boosting FICO scores. Operation HOPE recently received its fourth consecutive 4-star charity rating for fiscal management and commitment to transparency and accountability by the prestigious non-profit evaluator, Charity Navigator.

For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow Operation HOPE on Twitter and Facebook @operationhope