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by SpringFour | Oct, 3, 2017 | Default, Post - Insights
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.
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by SpringFour | Sep, 21, 2017 | Default, Post - Insights
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.
by SpringFour | Sep, 13, 2017 | Post - Insights, Uncategorized
It’s a difficult time to be working towards financial health in America, when the damage and destruction caused by recent natural disasters has taken many people back to square one, or worse. Families already living paycheck to paycheck in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, are now facing displacement from their homes and schools, unemployment, food insecurity, and complete financial instability.
But it’s also an inspiring time. Tuesday night while watching the Comic Relief hand to hand fundraiser on TV, I was reminded by our work at SpringFour by one of the images that played over again of a spontaneous human chain of support that was formed to rescue an elderly man from a sinking SUV.
That spirit of human resiliency that inspires great generosity is now just beginning as individuals, organizations, and governments band together to begin recovery efforts. The Comic Relief event alone raised more than $44 million dollars in one night. Those funds will soon be disbursed to reputable charities and reflected in recovery support offered by organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children. And that’s a drop in the bucket. A recent estimate shows that the federal government alone was spending an average of $80 billion dollars on disaster relief even before the recent hurricanes.
So how do we make sure that the people most in need of assistance have access to it? This question has prompted increased media attention, hackathons, and workshops in the tech world.
SpringFour a Certified B Corporation, has been addressing this question since 2012, the year we added a disaster relief category to our platform in response to hurricane Sandy. When a disaster victim calls their lender, their bank, a credit counseling agency, or a local trusted organization for help, they are directed to quick reliable resources that have been curated by our professional data team. Thousands of people have already accessed information about applying for disaster assistance and been referred to local resources for financial support, medical care, rebuilding help, and employment from programs that they may have not otherwise known about. Years after the flood waters are gone, we continue to update and add resources as aid funds are distributed and more programs become available.
At SpringFour, our mission is simple; Help people find the assistance they need. If you are a SpringFour subscriber, help your clients and customers affected by Hurricane Harvey or Irma today by referring them to Disaster Relief resources. It will take years for the impacted communities to recover. That’s why it’s also important to utilize our 25 other categories to help start your clients on a path to recovery and financial security.
Click here to learn more about the benefits of offering disaster relief information from SpringFour.
If you are not a SpringFour subscriber and would like to learn more, please contact sales@springfour.cc
Update October 16th, 2017: We’ve now seen over 15,000 referrals to disaster recovery resources in Florida and Texas. Thank you to all of our subscribers for providing this valuable information to their customers.
Cassandra Compton, VP of Data Integrity and User Experience
SpringFour, Inc.
by SpringFour | Sep, 5, 2017 | Post - Insights, Uncategorized
SpringFour Chosen as SOCAP Social Entrepreneur
SpringFour has been named as 1 of 125 social enterprises (1 of 48 in the U.S.) chosen for the 2017 start up cohort that is part of the SOCAP 17 Conference in recognition of our leadership and commitment to building businesses that will create positive impact for communities. SOCAP is the world’s leading conference on using capital to create good. Over 3,000 people from around the globe are expected to join this year to help accelerate the flow of capital for good. The conference brings together impact investors, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, business leaders and other innovators from across the world.
The SpringFour team will participate in a pre-SOCAP Accelerator program for the start up awardees on October 10, prior to attending SOCAP October 11-13th in San Francisco. To see a list of all impact startups selected, click here.
by SpringFour | Aug, 23, 2017 | Default, Post - Insights
SpringFour’s CEO, Rochelle Nawroki Gorey, recently joined the BAI Banking Strategies Podcast to talk about bringing financial health resources to bank customers.
Financial health and wellness are crucial to consumers at a wide variety of income levels across the country. Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and it’s not just the underserved and under banked that need referrals to quality resources available through SpringFour.
Financial institutions that make the financial wellness of their customers a priority show that they care about their customers and build loyalty. These financial wellness tools can assist customers in living a successful financial life and ultimately qualify for financial products they may not have been able to qualify for before.
Listen to the full podcast here to learn more about just how important addressing financial wellness is, and how SpringFour can help.
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by SpringFour | Aug, 7, 2017 | Default, Post - Insights
One of the best parts of our jobs here at SpringFour is hearing stories of the ways in which referrals are positively affecting people’s financial lives. It inspires us, and motivates us. Everyday our subscribers are providing thousands of referrals through SpringFour to their customers that directly impact their budgets and change their lives for good. We want to hear those stories.
Because of this we are always looking for ways to partner with our subscribers to look at outcomes from referrals, and evaluate impact. Whether through gathering in-depth personal stories, or data analysis of repayment performance, the impact SpringFour referrals make can be measured in a wide variety of ways.
We recently partnered with GreenPath Financial Wellness to follow-up with clients who received SpringFour referrals to see how their financial lives had been affected. Vincent, Diane, and Vivian* were three examples of just how these referrals make a difference. From making a home more livable through home repair grants, to getting a handle on out of control prescription costs, to gaining assistance for bankruptcy, SpringFour referrals helped to get financial lives back on track. Read their moving stories here.
Do you have an innovative way to think about the impact of SpringFour referrals? Are you a subscriber who is already tracking these outcomes, or would you like to? Reach out to us (Katie@springfour.cc); we’d love to hear from you.
*Names changes for confidentiality
Katie Gottschall Donohue
Vice President, Strategy and Operations
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