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Dear Esteemed Friend: I am proud to report that Operation HOPE ended 2018 with historic results. This was our best year ever reflecting the growing demand for our programs and our continued success at delivering individual and community impacts at scale. Warren Buffet often says, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long ago.” Operation HOPE and its partners planted many trees in 2018 so the invisible class can find its shade in economic inclusion. Following a multi-year transformative phase for HOPE, last year focused on the scalability and sustainability of the HOPE Inside model and the Silver Rights Movement. Since our inception in 1992, HOPE has served over 4 million individuals with financial empowerment and disaster recovery services. With more than 130 HOPE Inside locations currently open across the country, HOPE has seen a 553% growth since 2014. In 2018 HOPE refined its focus on measuring and reporting impacts, and the Sustainability Committee of the Operation HOPE Global Board assisted with that effort. First Tennessee Bank engaged Accenture to conduct an evaluation of HOPE’s data and impact reports. Accenture validated that HOPE’s impact is measurable, sustainable and systemic, and HOPE improves FICO scores 2-3x the rate of its non-profit peers. The highlights of that study included: • 6-11 months: average 34-point FICO Score increase (range of 6-55 pts. increase) • 12+ months: average 47-point FICO Score increase (range of 12-75 pts. increase) • The greatest impact is created for <650 entry FICO Score clients • ~80% clients increased score • 1,400 referrals (unbanked to banked) were generated over 18 months • 800+ small businesses created • Increased savings on average $840* • Originated $1.4 billion in mortgages Operation HOPE is incredibly proud of the impact it is making for individuals and communities. HOPE's clients are also better prepared financially in the case of an emergency or disaster and experience reduced financial stress after participating in HOPE's programs. As we move further into 2019 I am focused on culture – it is everything. At Operation HOPE we commit to an unrelenting obsession for eradicating poverty, delivering social impact, maintaining operational excellence, and appreciating our HOPE Insiders – our employees, members, and partners who dedicate their time and resources to change people’s lives. Building a socially conscious and programmatically effective culture supports our continued success. Here are some of the highlights from 2018: - NFL Grant: I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by sharing our grant from the National Football League. Most exciting is the timing of this award. Atlanta is the Super Bowl host city and Operation HOPE’s headquarters which makes this announcement even more exciting. As a partner to their Inspire Change initiative, the NFL selected Operation HOPE to deliver our HOPE Inside programs in support of social justice and community good. Collaborating with players, owners and the NFL, HOPE will utilize the grant to equip young people and adults in underserved communities with the financial tools and education they need to secure a better and more inclusive future.
- HOPE Inside: Adult. We finished 2018 with 138 HOPE Inside adult locations supporting 2,012 cities and towns. HOPE opened new locations and welcomed new partners in 2018.
- Atlanta Public Schools: SunTrust Bank funded the opening of a HOPE Inside to support the administrators, teachers and staff for the School District.
- American Red Cross provided financial support following the devastating hurricanes including 5 locations in Texas and 3 in Florida.
- Bancorp South joined the HOPE family with their launch of a HOPE Inside in Memphis.
- Bank of the West continued its support for the HOPE Center in Oakland and Los Angeles, California and Aurora, Colorado, reaching even broader populations in 2018.
- Bright Star Church in Chicago launched a HOPE Inside with support from Ariel Capital and CIBC.
- Cathay Bank expanded its support through a HOPE Inside in Westminster, California.
- The Center for Discovery experienced such success with its first HOPE Inside that it added another financial wellbeing coach.
- CIT opened new HOPE Inside locations in Tarzana and the City of Industry in the Los Angeles area.
- City of Denver invested in a HOPE Inside the Workplace for its city employees.
- Custom Care in Chicago is a company that offers in home care for individuals in need and they launched a HOPE Inside for their caregivers.
- Denver Public Schools opened a HOPE Inside similar to APS to provide financial wellbeing coaching to their administrators, teachers, and staff.
- Delta Air Lines kicked-off HOPE Inside the Workplace for its Atlanta-based call center employees.
- Destinations Credit Union became our first credit union partner with a HOPE Inside location at its main office in Parkville, Maryland.
- FEMA funded 7 Financial Wellbeing coaches in Puerto Rico to assist with the financial recovery efforts in the mountainous areas of the island.
- First Bank launched HOPE Inside locations in Memphis and Nashville.
- First Tennessee Bank opened new North Carolina locations in Kingsport, Raleigh, Homestead, Siler City, Salisbury, Winston Salem, Fayetteville, and Clarksville.
- Fulton Financial expanded its presence in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.
- Huntington Bank announced HOPE Inside the Workplace for its African American Resource Group, along with support for the virtual/digital HOPE Inside platform focused on entrepreneurship.
- JPM Chase opened its first HOPE Inside in Houston.
- Mutual of Omaha added another HOPE Inside in Omaha.
- Regions expanded its HOPE Inside network in Birmingham, AL and Bellville and St Louis, MO.
- SunTrust Bank expanded its presence in Atlanta with a HOPE Inside on the Westside of the city, and added Arbutus, Maryland to its network.
- Wells Fargo committed $1MM to support HOPE programs nationally.
- Other HOPE partners also recommitted to their HOPE Inside locations:
- Banco de Popular
- Colorado Federal Savings Bank
- East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
- Fifth Third Bank
- Macon-Bibb
- Synovus Bank
- Union Bank
- HOPE Inside: Youth. Through our Banking On Our Future and HOPE Business In A Box Academies programs, HOPE delivered financial empowerment through 30 locations to more than 30,000 youth in 2018 and 1,049,225 program to date. The Coca-Cola commitment continues to set the pace in the delivery of youth programming. Other partners who join Coca-Cola in the focus on generational change include:
- Alliant Credit Union, Chicago
- Appalachia Regional Commission, Birmingham
- ANB, Denver
- Bank of the West, Los Angeles, Denver, Oakland
- Capital One, Baltimore and DC
- Casey Family Programs/Cities United, Birmingham, Compton, Denver, Long Beach, DC, and New York
- Cathay Bank, Los Angeles
- Charles Schwab Bank, Oakland
- East West Bank, Los Angeles
- First Tennessee Bank, Memphis
- Gibraltar Private, New York
- Huntington Bank, Flint
- Pacific Premier Bank, Orange County
- PNC, Detroit
- Primerica, Atlanta
- SEI, Philadelphia
- Skillman Foundation, Detroit
- SunTrust Bank, DC
- Wells Fargo, Los Angeles, Oakland, Birmingham, Atlanta, Philadelphia
- HOPE Inside: Disaster - HOPE Coalition America: HOPE Coalition America works with families to rebuild their financial lives after a disaster. Our work is lifesaving and necessary. That is why our partners, CoreLogic and UPS made generous donations to the HOPE Disaster Fund, along with other partners like Cathay Bank, FEMA, and the American Red Cross.
- HOPE Digital: HOPE continues to innovate. With our partners, our clients and our communities, we innovate to improve the lives of millions of people around the world—now and for generations to come. Leveraging our digital learning management system and entrepreneur training platform, HOPE made further progress toward our Project 5117 goal of equipping 1 million people by 2020 with the skills to get a job or build a business.
- HOPE Global Forums | Annual Meeting: The 2018 Annual Meeting exceeded all expectations, convening more than 3,400 delegates from 20 countries. The 2019 HOPE Global Forum will reconvene in Atlanta, May 29-31, with the theme, Pathways to Prosperity: Building an Inclusive Economy, and we look forward to welcoming you there. We have already announced high caliber speakers, including Robert Crandall, former American Airlines CEO, and Jed York, CEO of the San Francisco 49ers. Now the largest and most prominent meeting of leaders in North America focused exclusively on financial inclusion and the empowerment of the poor, the HOPE Global Forum will challenge some of the most extraordinary people in the world to reimagine the global economy. Visit www.hopeglobalforums.org to register.
- Bryant Group Motorsports Academy: Supported by HOPE’s youth financial literacy curriculum, Bryant Group Motorsports Academy and Operation HOPE established a partnership with Meria Carstarphen, Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, to launch High-Velocity Education. Sixty students from Bunche Middle School completed the program in 2018, and 3 additional schools are working with the program in 2019. The twelve-week program includes science, technology, engineering, math, and life skills, while reinforcing strong character values like positive self-esteem, team collaboration, and ethical leadership. Not only did Henry Ford III assist with the original idea, he facilitated a donation of two Ford racecars to BGMA, along with start-up funding from the Ford Foundation. The BGMA partners include: Road Atlanta, which provides the new corporate home for the enterprise; Michelin USA, which provides tires and education programs; Chin Motorsports, which donates track time for the students; and the Georgia Institute of Technology, which provides engineering students and faculty as mentors for the program.
In 2018 HOPE was fortunate to have been profiled in a documentary produced by Ambassador Andrew Young as a part of his Emmy Award winning series, “Ambassador Young Presents”. Entitled The Color of Money the show profiles HOPE programs, clients and partners in rural and urban Tennessee. Leaders from SunTrust Bank and First Tennessee Bank, where the HOPE Inside locations served these clients, were also interviewed in the documentary. Ambassador Young is making the documentary available for private broadcasts. If you have an interest in hosting the show, please reach out to caryn.anderson@operationhope.org. In 2019 Operation HOPE will advance the Silver Rights Movement and continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Freedman’s Bank. We HOPE you will join the movement.
Thank you and Happy New Year!
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