Page 91 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2023

“Our focus is financial dignity and inclusion,” says Derrick Jackson, local financial wellbeing coach with Operation HOPE. “Our mission is to expand economic opportunity, making free enterprise work for everyone. We equip young people and adults with the financial tools and education
to secure a better future by coaching them through their personal aspirations and life’s challenges and facilitating their journey to financial independence.”
Cadence Bank has been working with Operation HOPE since 2017, when the pilot program was launched inside one of our Memphis, Tennessee, locations. “We have added six additional HOPE Inside locations since July 2021 and have committed nearly $1.5 million to support Operation HOPE’s financial literacy programs,” says Walt Pannell, president, Gulf Coast Division.
Currently, there are HOPE Inside locations at seven Cadence Bank branches in Memphis, Mobile, Pensacola, Gulfport, Jackson, Dallas, and Houston. “Because the HOPE Inside team is located within our branches, customers and members of our communities can speak with a banker and a HOPE financial counselor in one location. Our goal is to boost their qualifications and eligibility, giving them access to better products and pricing,” Pannell said.
Operation HOPE has served more than four million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities thus turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. “Our mission is to expand economic opportunity, making free enterprise work for everyone,” Jackson says.
The mission is accomplished by partnering with financial institutions, corporations, municipal agencies, and community organizations to deliver HOPE. “It's our award- winning model of community uplift that has allowed us to scale, and sustainably package and deliver, financial dignity and economic empowerment programming in communities around the country at no cost to the client,” Jackson explains. “We are proud to partner with Cadence Bank as we serve and make our footprints along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
Pannell says, “Our relationship with Operation HOPE helps to increase economic inclusion and protect the financial security of low- to moderate-income individuals and families. Some Cadence Bank customers need to raise their credit score before they can qualify for a mortgage or personal loan. That’s where Operation HOPE comes in.”
The services provided at the bank's HOPE Inside locations are tailored to the needs of the community and are available at no cost. These include credit counseling, money
management education, homeownership counseling, and small business coaching. “Importantly, there are no specific qualifications customers need to meet to participate in the program,” Pannell added.
As a financial wellbeing coach, Jackson's emphasis is on credit and money management and small business. “In being a coach, I have been instrumental in working with and witnessing my clients' credit scores increase 97 points in six months, 81 points in three months, 91 points in four months, and 44 points in two months just to give a snippet of the success stories thus far,” he said.
He has not only coached with credit and seen substantial changes, but also with budgeting and saving. “Some clients saved $6700 in five months, $2200 in four months, $1500 in two months just to recount some notable impacts,” he says. “In the small business realm of coaching, clients receive valuable tips, strategies, and understanding to propel them personally and professionally into launching or scaling their business.”
Clients also have the opportunity to enroll in Operation HOPE's Small Business Development program to learn and establish a solid business plan. They take a two-hour course once a week for eight weeks which provides information, confidence, and structure to their future as a business owner.
“Moving forward, it is our aim with community help and support to make an impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast by educating, coaching, and connecting with individuals to blaze a trail for financial literacy, dignity, and economic inclusion that simply implies that yes, you can win too,” Jackson stated.
“We feel the program is extremely successful,” Pannell says, “By helping customers get a better grasp on their personal finances, they can maintain economic stability going forward. They can teach others, including friends, families and neighbors, what they’ve learned through the program and promote a more financially empowered community.”
After a six-month timeframe, the average individual who goes through the Operation HOPE program may see a net savings increase of about $1,000 and credit score increase of up to 50 points, Pannell explains. “This is critically important when you consider that financial wellbeing is among the lowest levels observed since 2016, according
to the Federal Reserve’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 survey.”
Pannell says Cadence Bank is excited to bring this partnership to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and has been encouraged to see the early successes that Jackson has had in the first seven months. “I commend Derrick for his creative vision and unwavering commitment, and I look forward to working together to make a difference in our communities,” he added.
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