Deadline: 30-Jun-21
Applications are invited for the 2021 Exchange Challenge that will focus on nonprofit-fintech partnerships that can advance the financial health of justice-involved individuals and families navigating fines, arrests, detainment, and/or incarceration.
With expertise and advisory support from Credit Builders Alliance.
The 2021 Financial Solutions Lab Exchange Challenge: Improving the Financial Health of Justice-involved Individuals, together with advisory partner Credit Builders Alliance, is looking for emerging or existing partnerships between nonprofits and fintechs interested in piloting or prototyping new solutions, product designs, or program enhancements that will allow them to better serve justice-involved individuals and their families.
The Exchange is founded on the belief that the complementary strengths of fintechs and nonprofit organizations can be combined to create powerful solutions that address the financial health challenges of struggling households.
For the 2021 Exchange Challenge, grants will be awarded to support emerging and existing partnership solutions that address the financial health challenges faced by justice-involved individuals and their families, including:
- Paying for pretrial costs, such as bail
- Covering in-prison costs, such as communications and commissary expenses
- Managing legal financial obligations such as fines and fees
- Establishing a bank account
- Achieving credit visibility
- Securing access to affordable credit to assist with entrepreneurship and other goals
Some examples of the types of projects grantees might propose include:
- 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.
Funding Information
- $50,000 per partnership (minimum of $26,000 must go to the nonprofit partner).
- Technical assistance to help grantees execute projects.
- A forum to actively engage with, and learn from, the nonprofit and fintech peers in your cohort.
The Financial Solutions Lab and its partners define diversity, equity, and inclusion as follows:
- Diversity
- Diversity is recognizing, acknowledging, appreciating, and bringing together individuals and groups with unique perspectives and differing backgrounds. The Financial Solutions Lab is intentionally focused on innovative ideas that support populations facing acute and persistent financial health challenges, including (but not limited to) people of color, women, aging individuals, and individuals with disabilities.
- Equity
- Equity means that all individuals, regardless of age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, socioeconomic status, protected veteran status, or disability have equitable access to economic opportunity. In practice, this does not mean identical interventions. Rather, equity is about providing groups of people with customized supportive services that will enable them to thrive. Through these services, they aim to counteract unequal access to economic opportunity caused by historical and present-day discriminatory systems and practices.
- Inclusion
- Inclusion is the conscious practice of creating an environment of involvement and mutual respect – where they support and welcome a broad spectrum of ideas, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives. Inclusion puts the concept of diversity into action and fosters a culture where individuals are given a voice and can bring their whole selves to every situation.
Eligibility Criteria
- Project must be focused on addressing the financial health challenges of justice-involved individuals and/or their families.
- Applications must have both partners identified and fully committed to work together during the grant period from October 2021 through June 2022.
- Organizations may submit applications with different partners (e.g. two applications, with two different partners).
- Nonprofit Community Development Financial Institutions are eligible for grants.
- Nonprofit organizations registered as 501(c)4 organizations will not be eligible.
For more information, visit https://finlab.finhealthnetwork.org/exchange/2021-challenge/