Origin Announces the Origin Diversity Program to Expand Financial Literacy Education to Marginalized Communities and Improve Diversity of Financial Planning Profession

Initiative commits funds, time, and resources to support the advancement of underrepresented financial planners

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial education and services are unevenly distributed in the modern economy. Marginalized communities are apprehensive about working with financial systems or have been cut off from accessing opportunities to accumulate wealth. To expand financial literacy education and support the next generation of financial planners to be as diverse as the clients they serve, Origin, the employee financial wellness platform, announced the formation of their new philanthropic initiative – the Origin Diversity Program. Through the program, Origin has committed time, resources, and funds to further its mission of bringing financial wellness to every employee, no matter their income, net worth, or location.

Origin is the first comprehensive employee financial wellness platform for the modern workforce. Its integrated solution helps employees manage compensation, benefits, and personal finances in a single place – side by side with financial professionals. Origin was founded on the belief that financial planning should be accessible to everyone at every stage of life. Yet, less than 3.5% of all the 80,000 CFP® professionals in the United States are Black or Latinx, according to the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, for example.

“We’ve heard from customers that their employees want financial advice from financial planners who understand their unique challenges and goals, but the pool of Certified Financial Planners doesn’t match the diverse workforces Origin serves,” said Matt Watson, CEO and co-founder of Origin. “With the Origin Diversity Program, we hope to break down the barriers to financial wellness by tackling the problem at the root – making financial literacy accessible to marginalized youth and paving a path for underrepresented professionals to make a career in financial planning.”

Through the program’s education initiative, Origin will provide digital financial literacy courses to high school students from low-income, underserved communities. The courses will cover the practical steps of managing personal finances and the skills to build lasting, healthy financial habits.

Through the program’s scholarship fund, Origin has committed to cover the cost of the CFP® professional exam, training materials, and classes to support the advancement of underrepresented professionals in financial planning, awarding 10 grants valued at $50,000 in its inaugural year. Grantees will also have access to Origin’s diverse financial planner network for mentorship and development.

“The best time to start financial planning is yesterday,” said Ryan Xue, head of strategy and business operations and the Origin Diversity Program lead at Origin. “Many employees who use Origin have big goals in their future but would have had better outcomes had they understood their finances and taken action earlier in their lives. Unfortunately, so many young people don’t have access to the resources and education they need to learn healthy financial habits before they ever enter the workforce. By providing Origin’s wealth of financial education to high schools in marginalized communities, we can help young people start on the right foot for an even brighter financial future.”

To partner with the Origin Diversity Program or learn more, visit the program website.

ABOUT ORIGIN

Origin was founded on the belief that financial planning should be accessible to everyone at every stage of life. Origin is the first comprehensive employee financial wellness platform for the modern workforce. Its integrated solution helps employees manage compensation, benefits, and personal finances in a single place – side-by-side with financial professionals. Origin is the first platform that combines human financial planners with cutting-edge financial technology that both educates employees and allows them to create, execute, and track their personalized financial plans. Origin’s team is led by repeat founders and is backed by leading VC firms and investors like 01A, Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures, General Catalyst and Lachy Groom. With Origin, employees have on-demand access to their Origin planner and a video call or in-app chat conversation is one click away. For more information on Origin, visit http://www.useorigin.com