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by SpringFour | Nov, 7, 2017 | Default
On October 5, SpringFour had the privilege to participate on a Fintech Panel hosted by the Center for Financial Security at University of Wisconsin – Madison. The panel entitled “FinTech: Innovations for Family Financial Security” explored the potential for financial technology to address the needs of underserved consumers. This is obviously a topic close to the heart of all that we do at SpringFour, and we were excited to present our work and think together about how financial technology can continue to innovate in this segment.
We were joined on a panel by other financial technology companies including, Shift Savings, American Family Insurance, M1Finance, and SafetyNet. Each of us presented on our technology solutions, and how we specifically were addressing the needs of underserved consumers. After the panel, there was a lively discussion and Q & A with the audience.
Photo: Rourke O’Brien moderates the panel including Mark Greene, Ryan Rist, Michael Savino, Katie Donohue, and Craig Sweeney
The event also included keynote speaker, Ida Rademacher, Executive Director of Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. Her remarks centered on what is the role of FinTech for expanding financial inclusion, and how technology and policy can together address needs of the underserved.
Photo: Dr. J. Michael Collins leads the Q & A with Ida Rademacher
It was an energizing day filled with big ideas. Lots of great discussion was had with students, community members, researchers, and leaders in the financial technology space. We’re excited to see innovative programs for students who want to address the needs of the underserved through new technology. It is also great for SpringFour to contribute to the conversation and share our story.
We know that we are bringing about real financial change to those who need it. Using financial technology to bring financial resources and opportunities to the underserved is essential. As technology becomes ever more prevalent in the financial services space, we can use it to break down barriers and bring services to communities and individuals who may not have had access before. SpringFour has been doing this since 2005, and is excited to continue to innovate in this space.
Katie Gottschall Donohue, Vice President, Strategy and Operations
SpringFour, Inc.
![Fintech Panel at the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison]()
by SpringFour | Oct, 24, 2017 | Default
(Pictured above, SpringFour Co-Founder and CEO, Rochelle Gorey, and SpringFour VP of Data Integrity and User Experience, Cassandra Compton at SOCAP)
Last week I had the opportunity to spend a day with social impact entrepreneurs from around the globe. It was an incredible opportunity and a powerful experience. I met founders from India, East Africa, West Africa and so many other places, including many from the United States. All of whom are focused on creating social impact through the start-ups that tackle some of the biggest issues facing people around the world. Each of these entrepreneurs is thinking about how to do so in a way that hasn’t been done before or bringing issues to the forefront that previously were not given much thought.
How did we all end up in one place? I was selected as one of the 150 promising social entrepreneurs to receive a scholarship to attend the SOCAP Conference and attend a one-day Social Impact Accelerator. This year’s conference was held in San Francisco October 9-13, 2017.
Billed as the “world’s leading conference on activating the power of capital markets to drive positive social and environmental impact – convening the marketplace at the intersection of money and meaning. The conference brings together impact investors, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, business leaders and other innovators from across the world in a unique cross-sector approach to catalyze collaboration for change.”
Not only did I meet amazing entrepreneurs but I also had the chance to meet investors focused on social impact investing, companies looking to make change in the world, and touch base with some of SpringFour’s current customers who are focused on bringing financial health to their borrowers.
I came back from a busy, jam-packed Conference feeling even more inspired and motivated to keep pushing for solutions that offer people thoughtful solutions and resources that can bring about better financial health.
You can read more from some of the social entrepreneurs, including me, featured here in a Huffington Post article.
Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey
Co-Founder & CEO
![Fintech Panel at the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison]()
by SpringFour | Oct, 17, 2017 | Default
On Friday September 22nd, we had the privilege to present the SpringFour solution to top BMO Harris Bank executives. This was the culmination of the three-month partnership program in which SpringFour was one of six startups selected to participate. Read our blog about our inclusion in the program here.
We are proud to announce that we received third prize in the program, receiving $10,000.
See the article featuring the Program on Business Insider.
The program was a great experience for SpringFour, allowing us to engage deeply with our three mentors at BMO Harris. Each of our mentors were incredibly involved, believed in our mission, and worked hard with us to refine our value proposition, and how best we could potentially integrate with BMO Harris Bank.
Not only did we walk out of this experience with additional knowledge, but also great partners and a vision of future partnership with the Bank.
Katie Gottschall Donohue, Vice President, Strategy and Operations
SpringFour, Inc.
![Fintech Panel at the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison]()
by SpringFour | Oct, 12, 2017 | Default
Building strong partnerships with our subscribers is fundamental to what we do at SpringFour. We love to work through how best to structure a partnership, strategize on tracking consumer outcomes, and how to uncover the benefits for both our subscribers and their customers.
We began working with LendUp in 2016, and from the start it’s been a tremendous partnership. We worked together to define parameters for outcomes measurement and how to assess customer savings, repayment rate improvement, and how opinions about LendUp change over time.
LendUp began offering SpringFour referrals on their website, and quickly saw their customers respond. After conducting a joint test, LendUp found that customers who accessed SpringFour’s resources were able to lower their monthly expenses and had higher repayment rates versus customers that didn’t use Spring Four. Beyond that, customers also felt more positive about the LendUp brand after receiving referrals. Read the full Case Study on the results of the LendUp/SpringFour partnership here.
“Our partnership with SpringFour is a win-win-win,” said LendUp CEO Sasha Orloff. “We’re helping SpringFour gain critical mass on their platform, we’re helping our customers find much needed savings in their ongoing monthly expenses, and we were able to very quickly gain a positive return on our investment in the service. It’s a perfect example of how we can use partnerships to boost our customers’ financial health and the health of our company.”
SpringFour is incredibly proud of these results. We know that SpringFour referrals impact consumers’ budgets by getting at the root cause of their financial hardship, giving them the ability to pay and save again. We also know that our subscribers benefit as well, increasing repayment rates and building brand loyalty saves our subscribers both time and money.
To learn more about how you can bring these types of savings to your company and your customers, contact sales@springfour.cc.
Katie Gottschall Donohue, Vice President, Strategy and Operations
SpringFour, Inc.
![Fintech Panel at the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison]()
by SpringFour | Oct, 3, 2017 | Default
If you’re familiar with SpringFour than you know that we provide a convenient platform used by professionals at large financial institutions and nationwide non-profits to find vetted local resources that can help their clients through financial challenges.
But did you know that Springfour is also used by dozens of local non-profits everyday?
Why would a small non-profit working in only one neighborhood or city need to use SpringFour?
Glad you asked.
Providing local resources for local non-profits
All of us at SpringFour have worked in fast paced non-profit housing organizations, where the main focus day in and day out is finding a client the help they need. So we understand the importance of having the names and phone numbers of partner organizations at your fingertips. Now instead of keeping a list in their files or sticky notes on their desktop, non-profit professionals can quickly pull up information for their client in S4desktop.
With all of its easy to use features and timesaving simplicity, S4desktop is only useful if the information presented is relevant for the professional using it. To make sure smaller organizations have the information they need, our data team is committed to offering dozens of vetted resources in each of their communities, adding hundred of new resources each year.
Where do we get all that data? Well, we like to go to the source when possible.
That’s way we partner with our non-profit subscribers to make sure they have the resources they need. And sometimes, we get a little creative.
Partnering with Subscribers
This summer we partnered with HomeFree USA and created a contest for the local housing counseling organizations in their HUD-Intermediary Affiliate Network. The goal of the contest was to increase SpringFour resources in the local communities where these organizations operate to strengthen the offerings and boost usage. Thanks to the great efforts of all the participants and hard work of Senior Manager of Affiliate Network Programs at HomeFree, Etta Midgett, we were able to collect information on hundreds of programs that we may not have otherwise known about.
Offering something in exchange
We recognize that these are busy organizations on tight budgets that prefer to spend their time serving their clients in need. To make it worthwhile for the participants, we offered two prizes for the organizations that submitted the most quality resources. SpringFour gifted an IPad to the winner, Neighborhood House Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware. Marcia Griffin, CEO of HomeFree generously donated a $500 travel voucher to attend the “Reaching Millions, Leadership in Housing Training” Conference that went to the runner up, Community Link of Charlotte. Each of the suggestions submitted was carefully reviewed by the SpringFour data team and added to our database of over 10,000 resources.
Judging by the thousands of referrals made by HomeFree affiliates this summer, counselors and staff are seeing the time saving benefits of logging into S4desktop, quickly searching the 25 categories, and emailing information to their clients.
If you are a S4desktop subscriber and would like to see a resource in your community added, please let us know by contacting datamanager@springfour.cc
If you know of a local non-profit that is ready to tear up that spreadsheet and throw away those sticky notes, contact us at sales@springfour.cc.
In fact any organization, large or small, can have a huge impact on the financial health of their customers or employees. Find out how at www.springfour.cc
Cassandra Compton, VP of Data Integrity and User Experience
SpringFour, Inc.
![Fintech Panel at the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison]()
by SpringFour | Sep, 21, 2017 | Default
Over the last few months, SpringFour has had the tremendous opportunity to participate in the BMO Harris/1871 Fintech Partnership Program. This innovative program has allowed us to work closely with three mentors at BMO Harris Bank, and to meet with many senior leaders for feedback and validation.
As SpringFour’s Co-Founder and CEO, Rochelle said, “The BMO Harris/1871 Fintech Partnership program has been incredibly valuable to engage at such a high-level with senior leaders at BMO. Our mentors have really taken the time to understand our mission and business and have helped us move our value proposition forward.”
At the culmination of the program on Friday September 22nd, we are excited to present to a panel of BMO Harris judges the SpringFour solution, and the outcomes from this valuable mentorship program.
See 1871’s Blog here to learn more about the program.
Pictured above are SpringFour’s CEO, Rochelle Gorey, and our lead mentor for the Partnership Program, Ben Schack, Managing Director & LTO US Lending and Collections at BMO Harris.
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Katie Gottschall Donohue, Vice President, Strategy and Operations
SpringFour, Inc.
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