JPMorgan pledges $125 million for financial literacy initiatives

• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30620

JULY 2019 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

3

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Netix subscriptions, they auto-pay their rent and

utilities online, they subscribe to all sorts of things, so

a sustaining gift to a cause they care about just makes

sense. And especially for those of us who can’t afford

to write large checks to the nonprots we support,

setting up a monthly gift can feel like a way to make

an impact over time. Nonprots should be really clear

about the value and importance of monthly donors,

make that pitch as often as possible and make sure

they are doing the work to engage, retain and upgrade

sustainers once they make that initial commitment.

Q: Text messaging is also seen to be a growth area.

Given the data, what are the best uses of text messaging

from a fundraiser’s perspective?

A: We’re in a strange place with text messaging—

texting isn’t really a new technology, but the way we’re

using it is changing very quickly. Right now we’re still

seeing nonprots try lots of different approaches, and

new tools and platforms popping up to try to innovate

in this space. And that’s really the advice I’d give: try

new things. Maybe give peer-to-peer advocacy a shot.

Bolster your existing email and social media efforts

with texting. Recruit volunteers or event attendees,

ask for donations, run an engagement survey! There’s

no one right way to approach any of our channels, but

texting in particular feels like an area to experiment

and take risks. ■

For more information

Will Valverde is creative director at M+R Strategic Ser-

vices. M+R works to help nonprots achieve real, lasting

change by mobilizing supporters, raising money and

moving the media, the public and decision-makers to ac-

tion. For more information, visit https://mrbenchmarks.

com.

JPMorgan pledges $125 million

for nancial literacy initiatives

JPMorgan Chase has announced a $125 mil-

lion, ve-year global commitment to improve the

nancial health of underserved communities. The

new investment is part of the company’s efforts to

drive economic opportunity in cities around the

world. The bank will identify, evaluate and help ex-

pand nancial technology—or ntech—solutions,

and nancial coaching programs to help people

increase their savings, build credit, reduce debt and

achieve their nancial goals, the company said.

The initiative was spurred in part by research

showing that many Americans are on shaky nan-

cial footing, with some 52 percent of Americans

unprepared for even a $500 emergency. The $125

million investment will help underserved com-

munities, such as low-income women, immigrants,

people of color and the aging, by supporting the

creation, testing and enhancement of innovative

ntech tools that address their unique nancial

needs. In addition, it will support the development

and expansion of nancial coaching and “just-

in-time” resources that can help people weather

unexpected emergencies and meet their long-term

nancial goals, the company said.

For more information, visit https://bit.

ly/2WHgyCp. ■

The new signatories are:

• Tegan and Brian Acton.

• Brian Armstrong.

• Stewart and Sandy Bainum.

• MacKenzie Bezos.

• Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Bin Musallam Bin

Ham Al-Ameri.

• Ben Delo.

• Jeremy and Hanne Grantham.

• David and Claudia Harding.

• Sonia and Paul Tudor Jones.

• Ryan D. “Jume” Jumonville.

• Erica and Jeff Lawson.

• Francine A. LeFrak and Rick Friedberg.

• Daoming Liu.

• John and Marcy McCall MacBain.

• Emily and Mitchell Rales.

• Chris and Crystal Sacca.

• Paul and Jennifer Sciarra.

• Nicolai and Katja Tangen.

• Robert and Jane Toll.

According to pledge organizers, the signato-

ries come from a wide range of elds—including

nance, technology, health care and real estate

development—and many are already deeply

committed to philanthropy, providing support to

causes ranging from climate change, education and

poverty alleviation to medical research, health care

services and social justice.

For more information, visit https://givingpledge.

org. ■

PLEDGE (continued from page 1)