{"id":11755,"date":"2018-05-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oportundev3.wpengine.com\/news\/financial-inclusion-challenge\/"},"modified":"2018-05-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T00:00:00","slug":"financial-inclusion-challenge","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/oportun.com\/es\/news\/financial-inclusion-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Inclusion Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOPE WINS
\nThe Wall Street Journal Financial Inclusion Challenge<\/h2>\n
(Reposted from the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
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HOPE was chosen winner of the 2018 Wall Street Journal Financial Inclusion Challenge during an awards dinner and final judging round in New York City on May 9.<\/p>\n
Based in Jackson, Miss., HOPE operates a credit union and other services for impoverished communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.<\/p>\n
A panel of independent judges selected HOPE, Oportun, and Propel as finalists in the challenge, sponsored by MetLife Foundation. It is part of an initiative to highlight the struggles that millions of Americans face in attaining financial security.<\/p>\n
Learn more about the finalists and judges below, and see a series of video reports on how financial insecurity impacts low- and moderate income people in the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Finalists<\/h3>\n
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www.Hopecu.org<\/a><\/p>\n
HOPE (Hope Credit Union, Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Policy Center) is a Jackson, Miss.,-based family of organizations dedicated to strengthening communities, building assets, and improving lives in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, one of the nation\u2019s most impoverished regions. HOPE achieves its mission by providing affordable financial services, leveraging private, public and philanthropic resources, and engaging in policy analysis to address a range of areas that affect economic mobility, including jobs, education, healthcare, housing and food access. Since it began operations in 1994, HOPE has generated over $2 billion in financing that has benefitted more than 1 million people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Bill Bynum \u2013 Chief Executive Officer, HOPE<\/h3>\n
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Mr. Bynum provides leadership to HOPE in the fulfillment of its mission, and oversees the development and implementation of its strategic plan. Prior to joining HOPE in 1994, Mr. Bynum helped establish nationally respected programs at Self-Help and the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. He serves on the boards of the Aspen Institute, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Prosperity Now, Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and is a member of the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty. Mr. Bynum previously chaired the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board, and the Treasury Department\u2019s Community Development Advisory Board. A recipient of the University of North Carolina Distinguished Alumnus Award, his honors include the Aspen Global Leadership Network John P. McNulty Prize; CUNA Herb Wegner Award; OFN Ned Gramlich Award; NFCDCU Annie Vamper Award; AACUC Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award; National Rural Assembly Rural Hero Award; and Ernst & Young\/Kauffman Foundation National Entrepreneur of the Year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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www.joinpropel.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Propel is a software company that aims to make America\u2019s safety net more user-friendly. Its free app, Fresh EBT, enables food stamp participants to manage their benefits, save money, and earn extra income. Fresh EBT is used by over a million families across the country each month, and a study with Harvard Business School showed that using Fresh EBT helps families avoid one day of extreme hunger per month. Fresh EBT generates revenue by connecting its users with opportunities to improve their financial health \u2013 whether that\u2019s a grocery coupon, an introduction to a local nonprofit, or a new job. The app has garnered over 12,000 five-star reviews. Propel\u2019s investors include Andreessen Horowitz, the Omidyar Network, and Kevin Durant. Propel is based in Brooklyn, NY.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Jimmy Chen \u2013 Chief Executive Officer, Propel<\/h3>\n
\"photoJimmy Chen is the founder and chief executive officer of Propel. Previously, Mr. Chen was a product manager at Facebook, where he led the Facebook Groups team. During his tenure, the Facebook Groups product grew to be used by over 600 million people across the world. Before that, he was a product manager at LinkedIn. Mr. Chen started Propel to apply Silicon Valley\u2019s technology playbook towards addressing the daily challenges of poverty, with the belief that the tech sector should be doing more to solve problems for people at every end of the socioeconomic spectrum. Mr. Chen has a BS in symbolic systems from Stanford University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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www.Oportun.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Oportun is a San Carlos, Calif., Community Development Financial Institution with a mission of providing personal loans that help people with little or no credit history establish credit and build a better future. Oportun uses advanced data analytics and technology to provide affordable loans to individuals other lenders consider \u2018unscoreable.\u2019 The company calculates each applicant\u2019s ability to repay, approves loans it believes can be repaid, and sets amounts and terms to fit customer budgets. Customer accounts are reported to two nationwide credit bureaus to help customers establish credit history. Oportun has disbursed more than $5 billion through 2+ million loans and helped nearly half a million people establish credit history for the first time. According to research commissioned by Oportun and conducted by the Center for Financial Services Innovation, customers have saved more than $1.1 billion by choosing an Oportun loan instead of alternatives widely available to people with limited credit history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Raul Vazquez \u2013 Chief Executive Officer, Oportun<\/h3>\n
\"photoRaul Vazquez is the chief executive officer of Oportun, a financial technology company that leverages advanced data analytics and technology to provide affordable loans that help people with little or no credit history establish credit and build a better future. Mr. Vazquez came to Oportun after nearly nine years at Walmart in various senior leadership roles, including EVP and President of Walmart West, and CEO of Walmart.com. He previously worked at e-commerce start-up companies, at a global strategy consulting firm, and as an industrial engineer for Baxter Healthcare. Mr. Vazquez is a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u2019s community advisory board and the immediate past chair of the Federal Reserve Board\u2019s community advisory council. He also serves on the board of Intuit Inc. Mr. Vazquez is a graduate of Stanford University with BS and MS degrees in industrial engineering, and earned an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Videos<\/h4>\n
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