Supporting Partnerships to Advance Worker and Student Financial Health

The Exchange is founded on the belief that the complementary strengths of fintechs and nonprofit organizations can be combined to create powerful solutions. This year, the Exchange is aligning with the Financial Solutions Lab’s 2020 Worker and Student Financial Health Challenge by providing grants that support new partnership solutions to address financial health challenges workers and students experience. Challenges faced by workers and students that jeopardize financial health include:

• Rapid technology changes requiring workers to train and reskill for career advancement
• Costs of education and training programs rising steadily
• The gig economy offering inconsistent income and being an insufficient replacement for traditional jobs
• The current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis adding countless new challenges to the financial health of workers and students

Workers and students need fintech products, services, and partnerships that prepare them for the economies of the future by addressing the barriers to affordable training, education, and opportunity.

What Solutions are Needed?

Through this Challenge, we aim to identify and advance partnerships between nonprofits and fintechs who are piloting or prototyping new solutions, product designs, or program enhancements. This Challenge will focus on applicants that are improving the financial health of low- to moderate-income and underserved communities – especially focused on workers and students as they navigate the current COVID-19 situation.

• Fintech Distribution: A nonprofit integrates a fintech tool into its existing program to increase engagement and impact.
• Nonprofit Referral: A fintech integrates or refers customers to relevant nonprofit services.
• Systems Enhancements: A nonprofit implements fintech systems or tools to enhance back-end systems or operational processes.
• Insights and Design: A fintech engages a nonprofit to receive design input into new products and features.

Read the full Application Criteria for more information.

Meet the 2020 Exchange Grant Recipients

The 2020 Exchange Grantees are forming nonprofit-fintech partnerships to tackle worker and student financial health challenges in new and innovative ways.