SpringFour Co-Founder & CEO Rochelle Gorey was selected as a 2022 LendIt Fintech Woman of the Year Finalist. As LendIt shares, “this award is given to the senior executive who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, integrity, performance, and a commitment to fostering gender diversity both within her company and in the industry at large.” In February, Rochelle went to Miami to be honored along with other finalists from the field of 800 submitted applications. This was the 5th annual industry award event to celebrate the top fintech influencers and innovators in the country, and followed two days of networking sessions. 

Co-finalists for Woman of the Year included:

• Jo Ann Barefoot, AIR
• Wendy Cai-Lee, Piermont Bank
• Rania Succar, Intuit
• Stephany Kirkpatrick, Orum

And the award ultimately went to Luvleen Sidhu of BM Technologies. Rochelle was honored to be among this illustrious group of women in fintech, and looks forward to sharing best practices and mentoring other women in the field.

Katy Jacob

VP of Research & Impact, SpringFour

Each year, SpringFour surveys the agents and counselors who use S4pro to provide vetted financial resources to consumers in need. We conduct this survey to explore user experience, obtain feedback and improve our products, understand best practices, and learn more about how SpringFour benefits the end users – individuals and families who are struggling. Read the results here.

SpringFour is proud of its consistent track record in achieving best in class results: This year’s user survey shows that SpringFour both improves companies’ customer engagement and brand value while enhancing efficiency, and helps power tangible financial health for end users. In fact, 94% of S4pro users say that using SpringFour makes them feel better about their work, and the same percentage find our resources highly reliable and easy to use. Ninety-three percent tell us that SpringFour helps their customers save on monthly expenses, with 90% of survey respondents sharing that SpringFour improves customer interactions. 

It is our pleasure to arm our S4pro clients with much needed resources for the customers they speak to every day, and to provide a win-win-win: for SpringFour, for our clients, and for millions of families in need. 

“There is no better validation than to see our product rated so highly by those who use it every day. Those high marks reveal that S4pro is doing exactly what it was designed to do for agents and counselors at banks, lenders, servicers and nonprofit organizations: help our clients empower households to get the help they need, reduce their household expenses, and overcome their financial challenges,” said SpringFour CEO & Co-Founder Rochelle Gorey. “We’re thrilled that our innovative solution is transforming the financial industry’s approach to financial health – and in doing so, making it possible for organizations to improve their brands and their customers’ lives.”

Katy Jacob

VP of Research & Impact, SpringFour

During the summer of 2021, SpringFour and Elevate’s Center for the New Middle Class collaborated on a research project. The project uses data from the Center’s Non-prime tracker survey. The Non-prime tracker survey is a longitudinal survey measuring the economic status of prime and non-prime consumers since 2018. The collaboration also includes SpringFour data on over 5 million referrals offered to families in 2020 and 2021 in over 30 categories of need as well as a 2020 consumer survey on COVID-19 impacts on financial health. The study seeks to ascertain:

• The impacts of COVID on non-prime and prime consumers
• The state of families’ financial stability and how they feel about  their financial situation
• The types of resources that families need in order to increase that financial  stability and improve how they feel about their financial situation

The study concludes that:

•  The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on American households were uneven, with some Americans improving their financial situation and others struggling;
• Americans made efforts to improve their financial resilience through debt payoff and by increasing their savings;
• Struggling households need continued support and sometimes don’t know where to turn;
• Through targeted partnerships, together we can provide families with the products and resources they need, deserve, and indeed, have come to expect from their financial institutions.

Read the full study.

Katy Jacob

VP of Research & Impact, SpringFour

The COVID-19 pandemic has had ongoing negative impacts on renters facing housing insecurity. A study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University describes the overlapping set of challenges that renters have faced through COVID-19, with half of renters losing income through joblessness and reduced hours, and a full 40% of renters losing half of their income. In this environment, renters relied on eviction moratoriums and other financial assistance programs to stay in their homes during the pandemic. However, the federal eviction moratorium recently ended, on August 21, 2021.

SpringFour is aware that tenants all over the country are very concerned about the end of the federal eviction moratorium. We know that families are in need of support systems and resources in order to avoid eviction or utility shutoff.  To this end, SpringFour has been following the needs of renters closely, and has seen a major uptick in demand for rental resources. Rental Resources is the top category of referrals for S4pro in 2021, accounting for 18% of referrals–up from being the 5th most used S4pro category in 2020, with 8.5% of referrals. The 2nd most used S4pro category is Heating and Utility Costs, accounting for 11% of referrals in 2021. This is also a crucial lifeline for families making difficult decisions about paying for utilities or rent.

“My client was struggling with making her rent payment because of the COVID19 Pandemic. The SpringFour referral I gave her helped her catch up on her rent in a state that no longer had a moratorium on evictions.  She was so grateful.” –Counselor, GreenPath

To address the impending potential crisis facing tenants who will no longer be covered by eviction moratoriums, SpringFour is dedicated to providing as much information as possible to help families who need resources. Companies looking to help their customers avoid eviction can count on SpringFour to provide the most up to date information for tenants, with extensive information in the following five areas:

1. SEE IF YOU’RE PROTECTED UNDER A STATE OR LOCAL EVICTION MORATORIUM

The nationwide eviction moratorium ended on August 26, 2021, but state or local governments might still have a moratorium in place. SpringFour provides information on state and local eviction bans and bans on utility cutoffs. 

2. KNOW WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE FACING EVICTION

SpringFour provides access to resources for tenants who have received a demand for rent, an eviction notice, or an eviction lawsuit. This includes information on: free legal aid programs; federal funds to cover rent and utilities; emergency financial assistance; emergency rental assistance programs that help with moving costs and security deposits; ways to file complaints, and more.

3. FIND RENTAL ASSISTANCE

The American Rescue Plan Act provides funds for an Emergency Rental Assistance program (ERA) for renters who have experienced a financial hardship due to the coronavirus outbreak; have a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median; and can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Tenants and landlords are eligible to apply for past due and future rent and utility assistance, plus an additional three months as demonstrated by need (and based on availability of funds). Additionally, many state and local government entities are expanding rental assistance programs to help pay for rent that is owed. If tenants are not eligible for ERA, they may be eligible for another program in their state, city, or county. SpringFour has created an easy to navigate system to help tenants find these resources in all states that have active programs–just click on the state icon and receive the most up-to -date information on that state’s programs.

4. CONSIDER HUD-CERTIFIED RENTAL COUNSELING

SpringFour also provides links to housing counselors from non-profit counseling agencies that can provide assistance with calculating an affordable rent payment, understanding lease agreements, and basic tenant rights. Help is available in-person at local organizations or nationwide by phone.

5. AVOID EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE SCAMS

Scammers try to take advantage of people during times of disaster and emergency, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Federal rental assistance is being provided in communities across the country and scammers are actively using this opportunity to prey on consumers in need, by pretending to be someone they’re not. SpringFour links to The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s site that helps tenants spot a rental assistance scam.

If you are unsure how to help your customer or clients through a potential eviction, or if you know that your customer base includes a high proportion of tenants that are impacted by the recent lifting of the eviction moratorium, SpringFour would be happy to help. Contact us at resources@springfour.com.

Cassandra Compton

Vice President, Data Integrity & User Experience, SpringFour

The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) is a new federal program to help homeowners impacted by COVID-19 catch up on mortgage and utility bills and pay other housing costs. Funding for the program is provided by the United States Department of the Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act, and will be rolled out as states develop their programs over the coming months.

We expect most states to have programs rolled out by September, and are poised to serve as a one-stop shop of information on each individual state program. SpringFour has created a category, Mortgage Relief (HAF) to connect homeowners to information about the HAF resources available in their state. Our team is actively tracking programs and adding information about eligibility and the application process. Expert authored guides provide a quick way for homeowners to understand the options in their state. We include contact information and eligibility and application information; our resources are updated daily. Our tip sheets on each state program provide extensive information for servicers, banks, and others to use. SpringFour is unique in its ability to serve as an expert one-stop shop of information on HAF programs throughout the country.

In addition to being a one-stop shop for information on HAF, SpringFour is proud to announce a new offering: S4direct for Mortgage Servicers. This custom tool enables servicers to utilize SpringFour’s S4direct technology solution to connect borrowers to effective and vetted mortgage assistance programs, HAF state funds, HUD certified counselors and other basic need resources.

S4direct for Mortgage Servicers is an easy to implement digital solution that enables quick and simple access to the most up-to-date and vetted resources – helping borrowers find the most accurate and timely information pertaining to HAF, HUD-certified housing counseling, and basic needs. This SpringFour direct limited edition is designed to go to market in 15 days or less–meeting consumer demand and regulatory requirements/CFPB guidance.

And why do so many financial institutions and credit counseling organizations look to SpringFour as their source of housing program information? Because we’ve been providing this information since our founding in 2005. For over a decade, SpringFour has served as the trusted source for information on Hardest-hit funds, foreclosure laws, local HUD-approved counselors, fair housing resources, and, most recently, Emergency Rental Assistance. 

“Housing counseling from nonprofit HUD intermediaries like MMI allows homeowners to borrow upon the expertise of their counselor during what is often an unfamiliar and traumatic experience. Overall, 79% of our clients report a reduction in stress after counseling.”

— Jamie Payne, Senior Director of Counseling, MMI

For more information about how you can leverage HAF and other housing resources for your customers contact sales@springfour.com