Our Employee Financial Empowerment Program

The holiday season can be a stressful time. The hustle and bustle of celebrations and gift-purchasing now combined with economic hardship caused by a global pandemic are in one word­: overwhelming. We want to reduce the stress and bring back some of the festivity into the holidays for you and your employees with our Employee Financial Empowerment Program. Through our Employee Financial Empowerment Program, employers can offer their employees access to our Employee Opportunity Loan and Trust Plus, a free financial counseling program provided by our partner, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners. The Employee Financial Empower Program is free to employers and is designed to improve your employees’ financial stability, health, productivity, and overall vibrancy.

“Both Spring Bank and Neighborhood Trust serve low-and-moderate income workers,” explains Brendon Kinney, our partner from Neighborhood Trust. “Our Trust Plus program works in tandem with Spring Bank’s Employee Opportunity Loan by attaching financial coaching to a financial product. In doing so, we make sure that clients stick to their payment schedule and repay their loan on time.”

Our Employee Opportunity Loan can help your employees cover holiday expenses –along with costs accrued from the COVID-19 emergency– by giving them access to a small loan with no minimum credit score requirements. But it’s not just about helping your employees apply for a personal loan; it’s also about equipping them with tools for long-lasting financial health.

For this reason, we consider our partnership with Neighborhood Trust crucial to our broader mission of creating a world where all people have equal access and opportunity to build prosperous futures. Through their Trust Plus program, clients receive free financial counseling coupled with our Employee Opportunity Loan.

As the largest nonprofit financial counseling provider in New York City, Neighborhood Trust offers services via phone, Skype, and mobile. They pair each employee with a trusted financial counselor for action-oriented coaching. Usually priced at a minimum of $20,000, this service is free to your employees as part of the partnership with Spring Bank

“Research shows that if you combine financial coaching with financial products, you help clients develop healthier financial habits,” Brendon adds. “It’s a win-win for all parties involved.”

He’s right. On average, people who secure our Employee Opportunity Loan and make timely payments have seen their credit scores increase 56 points or see their first-time score of as much as 700 points after one year. Healthy credit scores create the access people need to build wealth. Our Employee Opportunity Loan also provides a critical financial cushion in case of emergencies–like COVID-19.

“Employers and employees stress around personal finances,” Brendon says. “Financial stress is the single greatest stress carried by all Americans. People take time off of work to deal with financial issues. When an employee has access to a financial coach, they are more focused, they are more innovative, and they are more likely to stay at their jobs.”

“People feel more valued when offered financial benefits at work,” he continues. “Employers demonstrate their investment and care for their employees’ well-being, adding value to both the employee and the employer.”

Melanie Stern, our Director of Consumer Lending and CRA Officer, says our Employee Opportunity Loan has a similar impact. “By helping clients build credit, we alleviate the immediate stress around cash flow, “she explains. “Combining personalized touch to budget and credit management is a form of crisis management. We help people get through each day, so that next year when people can get back to work, we can talk about recovery.”

We know it cannot alleviate the financial hardship caused by COVID-19, but it can reduce the harm by helping employees bridge the gap between unexpected expenses and available savings.

“The economic damage has happened,” says Melanie about the ongoing economic crisis. “The question is: how do we mitigate the damage? What do our clients need right now?”

These are difficult questions to answer, but neither you nor your employees have to answer these questions alone. When you sign-up for the Employee Financial Empowerment Program, you can access personalized support and care from our team at Spring Bank and our Trust Plus partners at Neighborhood Trust.

This upcoming holiday season may not be the one any of us were expecting. However, you can alleviate your employees’ stress and create a little extra holiday cheer for them and your organization. Read about our Employee Financial Empowerment Program. Learn more about our Employee Opportunity Loan and Trust Plus.