Goodwill® and HelloWallet to Provide Financial Assistance to Enhance People's Lives

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Goodwill Industries International has announced a partnership with HelloWallet, an innovative web and mobile based software company leveraging the latest research in behavioral science to provide employees with personalized financial guidance. Through a 30-month program, 17 Goodwill agencies across the country will provide the HelloWallet subscription to employees as well as community members with disabilities and disadvantages who are unemployed and underemployed. It will provide these individuals with budgeting tools and personalized financial guidance and will track all of their income and expenses in one place. 

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HelloWallet is committed to dramatically expanding access to financial guidance in America, where only 20 percent of people have access to this type of critical support. The software leverages behavioral science to help participants save money and improve their financial wellness for long-term goals. Its average members have increased their monthly savings creating about $300 in extra contributions every month. HelloWallet's mission ties into Goodwill's family strengthening initiatives, which are focused on economic self-sufficiency and helping people with family health, child care, housing and transportation so that they can overcome challenges and become successful in their careers and support their families.

"At Goodwill, we know that problems at work often stem from problems at home as people struggle to balance their professional and family obligations," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Our goal is to ensure that families have what they need so that our participants can be successful at work. HelloWallet provides users with alerts regarding financial health threats, reminders, savings opportunities, and other information and education about their personal finances so that they can take steps to improve their financial situation."

HelloWallet will enable Goodwill employees and the people it serves to empower themselves to manage money, create budgets, understand basic financial language and terms, and develop smart budgeting and savings skills to achieve their financial goals. For millions of families, this type of software provides the needed guidance for financial independence.

"Recent research by the Brookings Institution, Harvard University and others has found that there are hundreds of billions of dollars unnecessarily lost by employees with middle and low incomes because of avoidable financial missteps," said Matt Fellowes, founder and chief executive officer of HelloWallet. "Employees have significant difficulty connecting with the products that can help them convert earning into prosperity. Our goal in partnering with Goodwill is to teach their employee base how to develop money management skills so that they can spend less, save more and achieve financial stability."

To learn more about HelloWallet, please visit www.hellowallet.com

ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with 14 affiliates in 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of America's top 25 most inspiring companies (Forbes). Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,700 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2012, more than 4.2 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 82 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at locator.goodwill.org, or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl or find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.

ABOUT HELLOWALLET
HelloWallet is a web and mobile-based application leveraging the latest research in behavioral science to provide its members (the employees) with personalized financial guidance to manage their expenses and find more money in their paycheck to grow savings, pay down debt and plan for the future.

HelloWallet was created to boost the wealth of workers by democratizing access to honest, high-quality financial guidance. Only 20 percent of Americans have access to such guidance today, which is a significant gap for companies that depend on employees to make smart health care, retirement and salary decisions every day. The application helps workers save money, improve their well-being and retirement readiness, and manage their financial responsibilities through personalized, independent guidance.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International