Announces Partnerships with Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance, and Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore
The Beans, a financial care company offering fintech tools, experiences, and community for America’s Care Workers, announced new partnerships with the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance (MiCHWA) and The Boys and Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore. The Beans partners with more than 50 schools and nonprofits nationwide.
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The Beans takes a fresh, modern, and evidence-based approach to personal finance that is focused as much on mindset as it is on the math of money. The company creates personalized, easy-to-follow financial plans for members that map out spending, savings, and priorities based on trends from a member’s bank account, and provides positive proactive support to keep members engaged over time. The Beans is focused on serving everyday Americans, with a special emphasis on America’s Caring Class, including teachers, healthcare workers, and other essential and often underpaid workers. The company is novel in its approach to combine workshops with its app. The application and science behind the program was designed by founder and CEO Melissa Pancoast. Pancoast first created Visual Financial Planning as an effective method for managing finances in emerging markets while working as a researcher at The University of Oxford on a team focused on reducing stress for carers.
“Research has found that people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. We’ve built animated tools and functionality that make it incredibly easy to build a visual financial plan that both meets you where you are today and evolves as you and your finances do,” Pancoast said.
Money is currently ranked as the number one cause of stress in the U.S., surpassing health, family, and even work. This has been exacerbated due to Covid-19: According to a recent survey conducted by The Beans, nearly 50 percent of respondents, most of whom are teachers, health workers, or nonprofit workers, have lost some income due to the pandemic. Even without their usual supplemental streams of income, or “side hustles,” many members of The Beans have still been able to put stimulus checks and money that would have been spent on experiences toward savings and debt, sharing that with proactive, positive support, they feel more control over their finances.
“Given the right tools, planning, and encouragement—we’ve seen that members are able to continue their momentum despite this unprecedented time in history. We’re on a mission to alleviate financial stress for some of the hardest working professions out there, doing work that has never been more urgent than today,” added Pancoast.
“The Beans is helping teachers and other Carers create a more positive relationship with their finances and a clear, visual road map to navigate their financial lives even more successfully,” said Randy Lindquist at the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. “For professionals who are lifelong learners, The Beans provides a new way of thinking about and interacting with your finances.”
“Our programs help youth become responsible, caring citizens, and education around financial wellness and mindset has become an area of increased engagement,” said Dakota Crow, CEO Boys & Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore. “The times we’re living in are unprecedented – our partnership with The Beans is helping us serve our employees who in turn are better equipped to evolve the narrative in our community around personal finances in positive, and engaging way.”
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