GreenPath Partners With JPMorgan Chase to Launch Virtual Financial Coaching Pilot

GreenPath Financial Wellness, a national nonprofit that provides financial counseling, education and products, announces the launch of a virtual financial coaching pilot, with support from JPMorgan Chase.

Financial coaches will engage participants using a series of one-on-one phone interactions and digital tools. The pilot will guide participants along a path to achieve their financial goals and embrace meaningful behavior change. The two-year project, which begins in early 2020, will focus on serving low-to-moderate income populations.

“Millions of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to build savings,” said Kristen Holt, president and CEO at GreenPath. “We’re so pleased to partner with JPMorgan Chase to test scalable ways that help people across the U.S. increase their financial resilience.”

JPMorgan Chase is committing $345,000 to GreenPath Financial Wellness as part of its $125 million, five-year commitment to improving the financial health of people in underserved communities.

“Sound financial health is the cornerstone of thriving households and communities,” said Colleen Briggs, Head of Community Innovation at JPMorgan Chase. “Digital solutions can help make sure that more people have access to financial coaching and the resources that they need to better manage their financial lives and meet their long-term goals.”

Participants will complete an initial session with a financial coach that includes a financial health assessment and an analysis of income and expenses. Coaches will work with participants to set financial goals such as following a spending plan, reducing debt, establishing emergency savings and improving credit. Over time, coaches will continue engaging with participants to track their progress.

The Center for Financial Security (CFS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will provide project guidance and support. CFS will use research to manage existing gaps, design questions, and evaluate results throughout the pilot.

“The financial coaching field is ripe for piloting ways to bring financial services to more people, especially those that may experience barriers to accessing in-person services,” said J. Michael Collins, Faculty Director of CFS. “We’re excited to partner on a project that will explore how technology can be used to foster greater financial health.”

GreenPath intends to determine best practices for effective virtual coaching, gain insights into how the experience can be more impactful, assess its scalability, and publish these learnings to help other organizations advance financial coaching research and design virtual coaching interventions that improve financial health.

About GreenPath Financial Wellness

GreenPath Financial Wellness is a national nonprofit organization that provides financial counseling, education and products to empower people to lead financially healthy lives. Working directly with individuals and through partnerships since 1961, GreenPath assists clients with debt and credit management, homeownership education and foreclosure prevention, student loans and bankruptcy needs. Headquartered in Michigan, GreenPath, along with its affiliates, has more than 50 locations across the United States. GreenPath is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA). For more information, visit www.greenpath.org or call 866-648-8122.

About Center for Financial Security (CFS)

CFS is an intellectual hub for research and outreach across disciplines. Currently, over 100 researchers from the UW and campuses across the nation are affiliated with CFS. Since its beginning in 2008, CFS attracts leading researchers through its expertise in consumer behavior, commitment to outreach and applied scholarship, and access to resources for behavior research and the dissemination of research findings. CFS faculty and staff have extensive experience with program development, implementation evaluation, and outcome evaluation. For more information, visit https://cfs.wisc.edu.

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