SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SaverLife, a national nonprofit fintech that helps working families achieve prosperity through savings, and Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU), proud maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint, today announced the planned expansion of SaverLife’s financial savings program to all of Intuit’s U.S. Prosperity Hub locations in 2021.
It Started with Intuit’s Prosperity Hub Program
Intuit Prosperity Hubs are located in six communities across the U.S. and internationally, including Bluefield (WV), Hazard (KY), Johnstown (PA), Lawton (OK), Morristown (TN) and Wise (VA). Intuit selects communities that are considered to have low levels of economic well-being, according to the Economic Innovation Group’s Distressed Community Index, and that would benefit disproportionately from stepped up investment and employment opportunities. Intuit has worked with select partners in each Prosperity Hub to create new jobs and deliver programs that benefit the community through financial empowerment initiatives, customer success centers, educational institutions, and small business success centers.
SaverLife and Intuit Team Up to Increase Savings Rates
Recognizing the importance of saving to support long-term prosperity, SaverLife and Intuit piloted a program in Bluefield, West Virginia, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania to help increase savings rates in these communities. During the nine-month pilot program, SaverLife engaged local employers and blended its flagship online savings reward program with a robust grassroots outreach campaign to build a culture of savings in Johnstown and Bluefield, helping more than 4,000 households start saving money.
“Accelerating savings is a key part of how communities build prosperity and resilience. When we launched the Prosperity Hubs program in Bluefield and Johnstown, we invited SaverLife to partner with us because of their expertise in building savings behavior and financial security,” said Susan Mason, Director, Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation. “Thanks to SaverLife, we’ve accelerated our ability to increase household savings and positively impact working families.”
Enlisting Employer Partners as Anchor Institutions
Intuit business partners Alorica (in Bluefield, WV) and Concentrix (in Johnstown, PA), now two of the regions’ largest employers, became active participants in the program. SaverLife adapted its white-label technology as a benefit for employees at the two organizations with the goal of increasing employees’ overall financial health. As part of the benefit package, each employee received a dollar-for-dollar match up to $40 per month, plus a $20 bonus to support a goal of building $500 in emergency savings.
“SaverLife has allowed us to provide a complete portfolio to our employees on money management. I’d like to encourage other employers to take advantage of SaverLife and offer it to their employees,” says Breed Love, Site Director at Concentrix in Johnstown. “We’ve seen an increase in employee morale and loyalty. Our attrition has also decreased because of SaverLife—our employees know we care about them and that sets us apart from the competition.”
To date, 47% of Alorica and 20% of Concentrix employees have signed up for the new benefit. A survey of participants at both sites found 66% said receiving the employee benefit made them more likely to stay with their employer and 75% said that learning about the new benefit in advance made them more likely to sign up for it.
Expanding the Campaign to the Broader Johnstown and Bluefield Communities
In addition to launching with employees at Alorica and Concentrix, SaverLife broadened the scope of the campaign to increase the financial health of the residents in both regions by designing a community-first approach based on motivational savings challenges.
“SaverLife’s top priority was to increase financial health throughout the regions,” said Leigh Phillips, CEO of SaverLife. “With the support of Intuit and local community leaders, SaverLife created community saving campaigns tailored to each region to encourage engagement and drive savings. We are incredibly pleased that Bluefield and Johnstown residents rose to the challenge, and not only increased their own savings but also launched a life-long habit.”
With above average participation rates for employers and communities, the average net increase in savings in Bluefield and Johnstown totaled $442 and $211 per family, respectively.
“We’re proud of the emergency savings we were able to foster among Johnstown and Bluefield residents, and we look forward to teaming with Intuit to create savings programs for other U.S. Prosperity Hub communities in 2021,” Phillips concluded.
Additional Background
For a more in depth look at the work of SaverLife in the Prosperity Hubs of Bluefield and Johnstown, please visit: https://youtu.be/B7I5VamATt8
The final report, “Communities on the Rise: Building Prosperity Together in Bluefield & Johnstown,” which outlines the scope and success metrics from the campaign can be found here: solutions.saverlife.org/building-prosperity
For more on SaverLife, please visit: about.saverlife.org
Follow SaverLife on Twitter: @wearesaverlife
Visit SaverLife on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saverlife/
About SaverLife
SaverLife (formerly EARN) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit on a mission—to inspire, inform, and reward the millions of Americans who need help saving money. Through engaging technologies and strategic partnerships, we give working people the methods and motivation to take control of their financial future. SaverLife has a number of esteemed investor partners including Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Prudential, JPMorgan Chase & Co., MasterCard and Capital One. For more information or to join the SaverLife Movement, please visit www.saverlife.org.