SpringFour Is Growing: Introducing Our New COO

SpringFour Is Growing: Introducing Our New COO

SpringFour Is Growing: Introducing Our New COO

I am extremely thrilled to join the SpringFour team as the new Chief Operating Officer. Not often in life do you get a chance to impact the lives of so many. SpringFour is that opportunity. We are laser-focused on getting the best financial health information into the hands of the millions of Americans who need it most.

SpringFour is growing and expanding its reach every day; already surpassing more than one million savings referrals annually. We at SpringFour work tirelessly to deliver creative solutions for our customers. With every new opportunity, we are on a mission to increase financial wellness, to help those living paycheck to paycheck, and to make the world a better place. That is what drives me. That is what drives SpringFour.

I plan to combine my passion and 20+ years of experience leading new company initiatives and driving strategic value to elevate SpringFour to the next level.  I look forward to the years ahead with SpringFour, knowing that our impact will only continue to grow. The future is very bright for SpringFour and the many that we serve.

It will truly be an honor and pleasure to work with SpringFour’s current and future subscribers to help deliver financial wellness to their customers.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or to learn more about SpringFour.

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info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

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Helping to Build A Better Future For Oportun Borrowers

Helping to Build A Better Future For Oportun Borrowers

Helping to Build A Better Future For Oportun Borrowers

SpringFour and Oportun began working together in August of 2016 after realizing we shared a mutual goal and mission. Each of our companies believes that those struggling financially should not be left on the sidelines and deserve access to fair credit and direction to local resources that can help.

Oportun was founded in 2005 with the mission of providing affordable loans that help people with little or no credit history establish credit and build a better future. Today, they have helped over one million customers and have originated over $5 billion dollars through more than two million loans.

Those who need access to affordable credit to meet needs frequently require additional financial health resources to get back on track. Nearly 90 percent of Oportun customers live in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. Many of them struggle to cover basic expenses such as housing, utilities or medical bills. These are just the types of situations where SpringFour referrals can also be extremely helpful and result in the greatest impact.  Oportun partnered with SpringFour to help their borrowers connect with local nonprofit and government agencies that address these types of financial challenges and can help put borrowers on the path to financial wellness.

As Oportun continues to offer SpringFour referrals they see more opportunities to assist their borrowers. As Ezra Garrett, SVP of Public Affairs & Impact at Oportun, recently stated to employees, “With the SpringFour partnership, Oportun helps more of our customers who are facing difficult life decisions find the appropriate assistance they need to get back on track. I feel more confident than ever that we are on the right path in our mission to help more of the 45 million people in the United States with little to no credit history build a better future.”

Initially, Oportun added S4direct to their website, where borrowers can self-serve to find local resources. They also deployed S4desktop in their contact centers, where Oportun agents are able to provide referrals to connect borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments to local resources. Because SpringFour provides its referrals in both English and Spanish, referrals can be easily made and understood by Oportun borrowers, many of whom are more comfortable speaking Spanish.

Oportun has since decided to expand the partnership and offer SpringFour referrals to borrowers through their retail locations as well, where they provide referrals to hundreds of borrowers each month. As Raul Vazquez, CEO of Oportun stated, “Partnering with SpringFour allows us to directly address our customers’ needs in a way that we could not do alone.”

SpringFour is proud to be a part of the path to help Oportun customers achieve financial wellness.


Katie Gottschall Donohue, Vice President, Strategy and Operations

SpringFour, Inc.

Awards and Recognition

          

           

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

          

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info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

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Efma Conference & Fintech/Bank Partnerships

Efma Conference & Fintech/Bank Partnerships

Efma Conference & Fintech/Bank Partnerships

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to New York City to speak at the Efma Bank+Fintech Conference. Efma, a not-for-profit association formed in 1971 by bankers and insurers, specializes in retail financial marketing and distribution. Today, more than 3,300 financial institutions in 130 countries are Efma members including over 80% of Europe’s largest retail financial institutions.

It was a true privilege to be a featured speaker at their first event held in the United States, which was attended by global leaders in financial services.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my talk in New York, it was an honor to have the opportunity to share with the audience the story of SpringFour and the impact we create together with our bank partners. It’s thrilling to have started a company based on a simple yet powerful idea. That connections matter. And that by creating a technology solution that powers these connections or referrals to local, financial wellness resources, people can get back on track with their payments and improve their financial health. We are making a difference and we believe the ability to share our story on the Efma stage will help bring more resources to those in need.

Rochelle Gorey presenting at Efma Conference

Because the theme of the conference was Bank + Fintech, we were there to talk about our work with BMO Harris Bank. This work came about as a result of the BMO Harris/1871 Fintech Partnership Program last year, which we were selected for and ultimately chosen as one of the top three winners. BMO Harris shared how they vet potential fintech partners, what they consider when deciding to do business with them, and the value they see in SpringFour.

Mike Butler (President & CEO Radius Bank), Tony Nicholas (CEO Alloy), John Schulte (CIO Merchantile Bank), Keith Armstrong (Co Founder & COO Abe.ai), Rochelle Gorey (Co-Founder and CEO SpringFour), Purva Sule (Director, Senior Relationship Manager BMO Financial Group)

At SpringFour, we recognize the importance of working alongside financial institutions to deliver financial health resources to consumers. We could not do what we are doing without our bank partners. And when we say partners, we mean it. I often tell potential clients that we do not view ourselves as vendors. In fact, the first time a potential client referred to us as a vendor I was a bit taken aback. From our first conversation with a potential client, we view them as our partner in delivering financial wellness solutions.

Never have we thought of our relationships with our clients as transactional. And that makes a huge difference in the relationships we create with our bank clients as well as in our ability to create impact. We work with our clients every step of the way to understand the problem that they are trying to solve and maintain an open relationship. In this way, we can craft and create innovative solutions together. Our bank partners know that when they utilize SpringFour’s platform, they are getting everything they need to help increase repayment rates and help their borrowers.

Let me know if you want to learn more about how to become a partner with SpringFour and join us in our pursuit of financial health.


Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey
Co-Founder & CEO

Awards and Recognition

          

           

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

          

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info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

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More Than Just Financial Education

More Than Just Financial Education

More Than Just Financial Education

We’re feeling excited. Have you seen this latest infographic by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) that illustrates the power of financial health tools at the workplace? It’s got us feeling pretty darn awesome here at SpringFour.

You see, for years now, we have been promoting and talking about how in order to help people with financial challenges, we must deliver more than education. And we’re not just talking about this. We have built the largest database of resources that help connect people with tangible resources, programs, and tools that help them reduce household expenses and increase cash flow. Our mission IS to provide necessary connections to real services that can create real solutions and alleviate financial challenges in the short term.

And it’s working. See our case studies with LendUp and US Bank.

Seeing the statement Financial Wellness at Work is Catching On, but Education is Not Enough in CFSI’s infographic sends off fireworks for us. You see, people are stressed and they often can’t make all of their monthly payments. While providing people with education is valuable, it isn’t what is going to solve their immediate problem: “How do I pay my mortgage this month when my furnace just went out and that cost me $4,800” or “My car broke down and I had to fix it because I need it to get to my job, but now I can’t pay my rent.” These are real life situations that happen everyday. They cause people a great deal of stress and anxiety. And you can be certain, that when people are facing these situations, they are distracted at work, they are stressed out, and no amount of education is going to relieve that.

But we have the power to help. To help make important connections to real resources and programs that can lead to a decrease in household expenses. It’s simple, yet not many organizations or employers are doing it. But we think that’s changing.

This illustration documents what we see as a significant mind shift in the industry, and we are thrilled to see this progress. If together we can continue on the path of creating and solving for income volatility, addressing shortfalls in the budget and providing real, tangible solutions to do so, we are all better off.

Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey

Co-Founder & CEO, SpringFour Inc.

Awards and Recognition

          

           

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

          

DRIVE IMPACT WITH US

info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

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2017 Year in Review

2017 Year in Review

2017 Year in Review

Wow. What a year. I want to take the time to thank everyone who has contributed to our success this past year. It has been a year filled with a flurry of activity and growth. We are excited about all that stands before as we begin this New Year. Without further ado, here is a brief visual of some of our proudest moments and accomplishments during 2017.

Click to open our infographic!


Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey

Co-Founder & CEO

Awards and Recognition

          

           

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

          

DRIVE IMPACT WITH US

info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

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Midwest Women In Tech Awards

Midwest Women In Tech Awards

Midwest Women In Tech Awards

Standing among a room full of women doing great work and supporting each other was inspiring. It was the Women Tech Founders Midwest Women In Tech (MWitT) 2017 Awards night, and we were there because SpringFour’s Co-Founder and CEO, Rochelle Gorey was nominated in the Fintech category (A founder changing the financial services industry through innovation and technology).

The event celebrated Women in Tech, those who have paved the way and bring diversity to an industry that has long had far too few women top players. Each of the nominees in 12 different categories were personally nominated and then selected by a panel of judges. The nominees all met the following criteria:

– An individual that demonstrates excellence in tech leadership

– A champion for other women

– A contributor to the community

– An authentic and innovative leader in the tech ecosystem

The event was an amazing reflection of just how many smart, driven, innovative women there are working in tech in the Midwest. Showing this diversity and wealth of talented local women changes the way we think about the tech field. The awards were created to “equalize the image of power in technology and leadership, while creating an army of role models for the next generation. The role models we want for our daughters and their daughters to see.”

Hearing the stories behind these inspirational women makes all of us dream of the future that our daughters can have. Rochelle shows this in the way she leads, her character and her core beliefs in bringing financial health to everyone, and we are glad she is being recognized for it.

We had a great time getting to meet and chat with other women in the field, hearing inspirational stories, and even getting to meet the Mayor.

The organizers of the event wanted everyone to leave the evening feeling “ignited and inspired to change the world.” We did, and we are.

Awards and Recognition

          

           

       

    

 

 

 

 

 

          

DRIVE IMPACT WITH US

info@springfour.com
866-732-2246

Chicago Office at 1871
222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

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