Guaranteed Rate Raises More than $5 Million in 5 Days to Support Mental Health

CHICAGO, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Guaranteed Rate, a leader in retail mortgage lending and digital financial services, raised more than $5 million in just 5 days to make a direct impact on mental health in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Project Healthy Minds and Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP).

"1 in 5 Americans experience mental health challenges, making it a huge issue we wanted to address through our partnership with these 3 great organizations – not only to raise awareness, but more importantly to have a direct impact on people struggling with mental health," said Guaranteed Rate President and CEO Victor Ciardelli.

Guaranteed Rate launched its Mental Health Week (Nov. 15-19) to provide education and resources to those affected. The event, part of the company's ongoing #GuaranteedLove initiatives, raised $5,099,999.85 over five days, with the company supporting donations with a $3-for-$1 dollar match. The funds raised will help provide direct services including:

• Helping 250,000+ people find mental health services within the first year.
• Helping launch the first intelligent recommendation engine for the world's first digital mental health marketplace that will eventually help millions of people.
• Helping provide 280+ interactive screening programs on college campuses and workplaces throughout the nation serving roughly 100,000 people.
• Providing life-changing mental health programs for more than 16,000 veterans and their families to help them heal from combat stress, PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

To drive the fundraising efforts, Guaranteed Rate hosted daily YouTube Live broadcasts with expert guest speakers and company ambassadors, including UFC champ Rose Namajunas and PGA star Patrick Cantlay. These sessions, which are available online to Guaranteed Rate employees as well as the general public, cover topics including nutrition, movement, recovery, sleep and meditation.

During the week-long #GuaranteedLove program, which is part of the company's longstanding commitment to its #1 core value "We Grow for Good," Ciardelli announced the company would begin providing one paid mental health floating holiday and another paid day off to volunteer.

"In America, 65 million people have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and 60% of them don't get the help they need," said Phillip Schermer, Founder and CEO of Project Healthy Minds, a nonprofit building the first free digital mental health marketplace. "Thanks to Guaranteed Rate's overwhelming generosity, Project Healthy Minds will be able to transform the mental health category and help tens of thousands of people find the life-saving mental health support that they desperately need."

"We're incredibly grateful to Guaranteed Rate for this commitment to mental health and suicide prevention, and particularly for this very generous donation to AFSP's Interactive Screening Program," said AFSP CEO Robert Gebbia. "Our partnership with Guaranteed Rate gives us the opportunity to expand the ISP program and give hundreds of thousands of students a safe and confidential way to connect with campus mental health services."

"Wounded Warrior Project exists to honor and empower wounded warriors and help them build resilience to overcome mental health challenges," said WWP CEO Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mike Linnington. "The incredible response from Guaranteed Rate's employees and their supporters will profoundly impact thousands of warriors' lives and equip them to take on their next mission in life."

Guaranteed Rate's Mental Health Week follows similar charitable campaigns, including employee-driven fundraisers that raised more than $3.3 million for Baby2Baby and $3.4 million for Feeding America.

For more information, visit Rate.com/MentalHealth

About Guaranteed Rate Companies:

The Guaranteed Rate Companies includes Guaranteed Rate, Inc., one of the top 5 retail mortgage lenders in the United States, Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, and Proper Rate, LLC. Headquartered in Chicago, Guaranteed Rate Companies combined funded over $73 billion in 2020 and have more than 10,000 employees in over 850 offices across the United States. Founded in 2000 and located in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Guaranteed Rate has helped homeowners nationwide with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has established itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates and delivering unparalleled customer service. In 2017, the company launched Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in residential real estate franchising and brokerage. In 2020, the company launched Proper Rate, LLC, a mortgage origination joint venture between Guaranteed Rate, Inc. and @properties, one of the nation's largest residential brokerage firms. Collectively, the Guaranteed Rate Companies have earned numerous honors and awards including: Forbes Advisor's Top 10 Mortgage Lenders for 2021; Best Mortgage Lender for Online Loans and Best Mortgage Lender for Refinancing by NerdWallet for 2021; 2018 Top Lender for Online Service by U.S. News & World Report; HousingWire's 2020 Tech100 award for the company's industry-leading FlashClose^SM technology; No. 3 ranking in Scotsman Guide's 2021 list of Top Retail Mortgage Lenders; Chicago Agent Magazine's Lender of the Year for six consecutive years; and Chicago Tribune's Top Workplaces list for seven consecutive years. Visit rate.com for more information.

SOURCE Guaranteed Rate Companies