Witnessing the magic of Fifth Third Bank’s Fifth Third Day, 5/3/2024, was special for so many reasons. 

Seeing Fifth Third’s Financial Empowerment Mobile, commonly known as the eBus, in action near Fifth Third’s headquarters in Cincinnati was such a treat, and a moment in my career I’ll remember forever. It was amazing to see SpringFour’s resources being delivered to community members experiencing the tool in person and to know how many more people it will impact in their own communities as it embarks on a journey around the Midwest.  

As we sat to dinner the night before the big day, we all began sharing stories about our lives with one another. A table full of women trailblazing through the world of finance, fighting tooth and nail to make a difference in the world, is a really humbling and honorable place to be. I couldn’t help but take note of a theme amongst many, if not all, of us sitting at that table: we’ve all experienced financial hardship in one way or another at some point in our lives. 

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the experience was meeting all of the incredible women at Fifth Third, including Aleta Young, Donna McCray, and Sandra DiPentima, who are responsible for the re-imagination of the eBus that will now deliver SpringFour’s financial health resources. Their mission never wavered. They poured their hearts and souls into this project. Seeing their vision come to fruition was incredible. 

SpringFour playing a role in the eBus’ upcoming journey across the country just made sense. Our Founder and CEO Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey has meticulously built a company rooted in serving others and operating with integrity. It shows in her actions, in the way she speaks about SpringFour, and in the partnerships SpringFour has formed.

I consider myself lucky to have played a part in this one. 

Operations & Account Specialist, SpringFour

Last week, some of the SpringFour team attended Financial Health Network’s 20th Annual EMERGE conference, hosted this year in our home city of Chicago!

No One Organization Can Do It All: Strategic Partnerships are Key

A common theme throughout the conference was recognizing that no one organization can, or should, do it alone when it comes to financial health. Working together through strategic, mission-aligned partnerships enables all of us to achieve more for our organizations and consumers. 

 Julie Szudarek, CEO of Self, touched on this when discussing Self’s partnership with SpringFour during the panel discussion:

Empathy is Essential to Success

Pictured above: Erin Mendez, President & CEO of Patelco Credit Union, and Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, CEO & Founder of SpringFour

The Real-Life Impact of a SpringFour Partnership

Jennifer also shared a member experience story where SpringFour helped connect a Patelco Credit Union member to much-needed resources that made a tangible difference in their life.

Intersectionality Across Barriers to Financial Health

So many sessions throughout the 3-day experience discussed the many financial health challenges that consumers are faced with today — especially challenges that are often overlooked. 

We heard stories of people with disabilities, each of whom faces even greater financial challenges than the typical American due to laws and regulations that restrict access to financial means, including income level caps and the inability to build wealth. 

We learned how natural disasters can affect people’s ability to access basic needs like food, water, and shelter; especially for those in rural or underserved communities. 

At SpringFour, keeping a finger on the pulse of current needs and researching how we can better support consumers remains a top priority. EMERGE provided an opportunity for our team to learn about unique financial health intersections, expanding our perspectives to be more inclusive, informed, and understanding of the compounding challenges that impact a person’s ability to succeed financially. This event shed light on the innovative strategies our industry is adopting to address these challenges and make a real difference for consumers’ financial health.

What Makes a Successful Partnership

When asked what advice she would give to organizations that are interested in forming partnerships to advance financial health, SpringFour’s Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey said this:

Time Well Spent with Financial Health Leaders

Pictured above: Jennifer Tescher, Founder & CEO of Financial Health Network, and Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, CEO & Founder of SpringFour

Connect with Us

If we met you at EMERGE but haven’t yet connected virtually, please reach out to us on the Contact Us page of the website or by emailing impact@springfour.com.

Thank you to the Financial Health Network for hosting such a wonderful event. We can’t wait for next year!

Morgan Pierce

Impact and Communications Manager, SpringFour

Allie joined the team as SpringFour’s Operations & Account Specialist in November. She utilizes her expertise in client onboarding to guide SpringFour subscribers through the deployment process. Her experience in Real Estate and Banking as a Service (BaaS) gave her valuable insight into needs consumers are facing today and how the financial industry can support those consumers.

What excites you about being part of SpringFour?

Every single day, SpringFour has a positive impact on someone’s life. Knowing that my work is supporting people and families means so much to me. I genuinely enjoy seeing our partners’ passion and working together to help them better serve their customers.

What does financial health mean to you?

To me, financial health means access. Access to affordable necessities. Access to the tools needed to prepare ourselves for the unexpected and know where to turn when it happens. Access to vetted, local resources that so many could benefit from on their journeys to financial peace.

What financial health trends do you expect to see in the near future?

I expect we’ll continue to see more and more conversations around mental and physical health and how they directly correlate to financial health – and for good reason. Destigmatizing and furthering our understanding of this correlation can only mean good things.

What gets you up in the morning?

I’m typically awoken by the joyous and oddly dinosaur-like shrieks of my children ready to conquer the day! While I’m typically roused by their cheerful morning banter, it’s witnessing their unwavering, pure joy for life that serves as an inspiring reminder to be grateful for another day.

What is your financial health rule to live by?

Knowledge is power. The world of finance can be so confusing and overwhelming, but there are so many educational resources out there that can support you on your financial wellness journey. There are a thousand ways to get from point A to point B, and knowing what your options are for that journey is incredibly empowering and reassuring. What worked for your friend in their journey to live debt-free may not work for you, and that’s okay. You have options to explore to find the best solution for where you are at that moment.

Allie Poppe

Operations and Account Specialist, SpringFour

Phylicia Clifton joined our team in November 2023 to help ensure our clients get the most out of their SpringFour partnership as our Senior Manager, Client Success & Impact. She works closely with our clients to build and develop their campaigns, materials, and strategies to promote and market their SpringFour deployments to their customers and employees. Additionally, she works with clients to understand their usage metrics and how SpringFour is impacting their customers’ financial lives and their own bottom line. Phylicia brings with her four years of experience in financial technology and over 13 years in marketing. Previously, she studied to become a certified financial counselor to better understand the financial struggles many people face and the solutions available to them.

What excites you about being part of SpringFour?

The ability to impact change in our industry and help people find the answers and resources they need to make better financial decisions and ultimately improve their lives. Traditionally, so many people have been left out or left behind when it comes to financial health, often due to a lack of tools, resources, and knowledge that help them take control of their finances and build wealth. In recent years, the financial services industry has recognized this more than ever before and is primed to make a real change in people’s lives by providing services that bridge the gaps, educate consumers, and make help available when and where people need it. 

At SpringFour, we’re working with game changers in the industry who believe financial health should and can be accessible to everyone. We’re poised to help the industry shift to strategies that emphasize empathy, understanding, and support. Every resource accessed has the ability to change someone’s life for the better. What’s more exciting than that?

What does financial health mean to you?

To me, financial health is a reflection of your financial journey. We all start our financial journey at different places, with our own advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, things go well and we feel financially stable and secure, while at other times our finances may be more strained and uncertain. Almost everyone goes through these financial ebbs and flows, and your financial health reflects that. We aren’t always “financially healthy,” but with the right help and support, we can make our way back to a more comfortable position.

What financial health trends do you expect to see in the near future?

I think we’ll see a rise in artificial intelligence leading to emotional intelligence. As more and more strategies become automated through AI, the most successful strategies will be the ones that use that information to gain the emotional intelligence needed to not only meet people where they are, but also to truly understand their individual situations and provide personalized help and recommendations when and where people need it. AI won’t solely be used to drive business results, but empathy as well.

What gets you up in the morning?

In a literal sense, usually a hungry cat or a dog that wants to go outside. In a mental and emotional sense, the potential in every day – to be better, to do better, to go further, to laugh more, to love harder, to leave the world a little brighter. I’m a glass-half-full, find-the-silver-linings kind of person and have a tendency to believe every day has the potential to be greater than the day before and that I have the ability within myself to make it so. Holding on to that belief makes getting up in the morning to feed the meowing cats or take those antsy dogs outside the first step in a new adventure.

What is your financial health rule to live by?

I’m a big fan of the 50-30-20 rule, which recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. Before learning about this budget rule, I struggled to understand how to build my budget and what to work toward. Since implementing this rule in my own finances, not only have I been able to better balance my budget, but I’ve also been able to better understand my own financial needs, set personal and professional goals, and gauge my own financial well-being. I may not always perfectly achieve the 50-30-20 balance, but I know where to focus my attention to get back on track.

Senior Manager, Client Success and Impact, SpringFour

We are proud to share our Q1 2024 Impact Report exploring SpringFour’s accomplishments during Q1. We kicked off this year with major recognition — being named a Real Leaders’ Top Impact Company and a big feature in Inc. Magazine, which wrote this:

As we continue to see, Americans need help making ends meet: 80% of Americans are struggling four years after Covid and nearly 40% are behind on monthly payments. We have proven that when companies prioritize their customers’ financial health with SpringFour, they deliver impact for their customers and business alike, from higher repayment rates to increased customer and employee satisfaction. That is why demand for our vetted resources continues to rise quarter over quarter and year over year.

Please read on to explore growing trends in customer needs, our newest product which is gaining widespread adoption, media spotlights, and more.

Thank you, as always, for your partnership,

Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey

CEO and Founder, SpringFour

Last week, SpringFour was invited by the Consumer Bankers’ Association to moderate a panel at its CBA Live 2024 event with three of our incredible partners: BMO, Capital One, and KeyBank. SpringFour’s EVP of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Yasmine Anavi, moderated the panel with Jeoffrey Begin from BMO, Ray Tervol from Capital One, and David DeSantis from KeyBank.

The topic? “The Data Doesn’t Lie: Leveraging innovation and financial health for long term recovery strategies.”

With a focus on SpringFour’s impact on customers’ financial health, each panelist shared how SpringFour has enabled them to further support customers in their respective default management and account management strategies, nurture better customer engagement, and prioritize consumer financial health.

The consensus? Supporting customers’ financial health as a part of ongoing customer management is here to stay.

Consumers are facing a very challenging environment, with consumer debt rising to record highs, delinquency rates rising, student loan repayments restarting, and 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, according to Payroll.org. Consumers are facing hardships and most do not know where to turn for financial health support. 

That’s why our clients look to SpringFour as the trusted source for connecting consumers with vetted, local nonprofit and government resources that address their customers’ specific financial health needs.

Supporting customers with the help they need before they fall behind on payments is a real opportunity to build customer trust and loyalty and ensure that people stay current on their payments.  Ultimately, customers appreciate knowing their bank is in their corner and willing to help them, and employees feel empowered and proud to deliver actionable resources to customers in need. 

To learn more about partnership with SpringFour, visit the Contact Us page of our website or reach out to us at impact@springfour.com.

Morgan Pierce

Impact and Communications Manager, SpringFour