Often, these tools might come with a price — either there's a subscription fee or you're offering your data, which can be used to peddle offers your way.
BBC / Via giphy.com
Not that there's anything wrong with that (there are some great companies out there doing good work). But if you've been burned by our financial system, it might be hard to trust any institution or company with your money, no matter what their intentions.
While not all these organizations are nonprofits, here are 12 groups that can help you tackle your money goals:
1. Save Money: SaverLife
saverlifeorg / Via instagram.com
is a financial platform run by the nonprofit EARN. It rewards you for saving with cash prizes or digital rewards. It isn't a bank and doesn't keep your money. Instead, you link up your SaverLife account to your savings account and rack up points when you save. When you've collected enough points, you can redeem them for cash prizes.
SaverLife also incentivizes savings by matching your savings up to six months. For every $20 you save each month, SaverLife will give you $10, for a total of $60.
2. Save Money: Save to Win
Get rewarded for being responsible when you sign up for a #SaveToWin savings account. Every $25 saved will get you closer to #winning up to $5,000 in select states! Find a participating credit union near you and sign up today.
3. Save Money: Yotta
YottaSavings / Via instagram.com
While we know why we should save money — to provide a financial cushion for security, for our money goals — it can be hard to stay motivated when there's no immediate reward. Enter Yotta. Yotta is a savings account where you're automatically entered in weekly drawings to win cash prizes of up to $10 million or even a Tesla (yes, you read correctly). For every $25 you deposit into your Yotta account, you get one ticket in the drawing. To date, Yotta users have won two Teslas and 4 million buckaroos.
So if you deposit $50, that's two entries into the weekly drawing. Deposit $200, and that's eight entries. The more numbers you match, the more money you win. If all eight numbers you choose match the eight numbers of the week, you could win the $10 million prize.
There are no fees as long as you keep a minimum of $5 in your account. Plus, with a savings account through Yotta, you get a 0.20% interest rate, which is about four times the national average interest rate for savings accounts.
4. Build Credit: Accion
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is a nonprofit that is all about tapping into financial technology and tools to grant financial inclusion to underserved folks. One of the ways it does this is via its credit-builder loan, available on its platform
Self. A credit-builder loan through Self works like so: You can "borrow" anywhere from $520 to $1,663, and pay as little as $25 a month, and up to $150 a month.
But you're not actually borrowing — you're tucking away money into a bank certificate of deposit (CD). As you make "payments," you're building your credit. Then, after you're done "paying off your loan" (i.e., deposited the agreed-upon amount), you get the funds you deposited back. The ultimate goal? Your credit scorewill get a boost.
Remember: This isn't a traditional loan, where you get a lump sum up front and then make payments in chunks along the way. There's also no hard credit check, so your credit score won't get dinged. While Self is backed by a nonprofit, there is an admin fee of $9, and depending on the length of the loan, you could be paying anywhere from $46 to $146 in other fees.
They also offer a credit card, which you might be eligible for after having a credit-builder loan and making payments for a few months.
5. Build Credit: Oportun
6. Financial Inclusion for All: Operation HOPE
operationhopehq / Via instagram.com
Operation HOPE helps underserved communities by working toward financial inclusiveness for folks who live on low to moderate incomes. Operation HOPE offers various initiatives and programs — financial literacy programs for young folks, a credit and money management program, homeowners workshops, free financial planners, plus half a million buckaroos toward helping those facing eviction.
7. Build Credit: Mission Asset Fund
MissionAssetFund / Via instagram.com
Mission Asset Fund (MAF) combines a credit-builder loan with a lending circle. A lending circle is a small group of folks who all benefit from loaning money out and receiving a loan. With MAF, your lending circle can be made up of anywhere from 6 to 12 people. The loan amount each person gets can be anywhere from $300 to $2,400. The money is pooled into a single fund. And each month, a member of the lending circle receives the loan.
8. Get a Line of Credit: Elastic
Throughout the pandemic, we listened to our customers as they requested greater financial flexibility. As a result, we announced that we will offer payment assistance tools permanently to help non-prime consumers achieve financial wellness. https://t.co/uCbseRetbE
9. Get Educated: CFPB's Resources for Spanish Speakers
Tenemos información actualizada y recursos para que se proteja y maneje sus finanzas en estos tiempos difíciles. https://t.co/l0YbWpoxCb
10. Get Your Financial Literacy On: Zogo Finance
zogofinance / Via instagram.com
We get it: Financial education can be a total snooze fest. Zogo Finance is a Gen Z'er led fintech company that aims to change that, especially for the younger generations. It works with different financial institutions — think banks, credit unions, and regional and community banks — across the country on expanding their financial literacy programs and initiatives and to boost the fun factor. You can download their app to play games that teach you about financial concepts and earn pineapples that you can cash out for gift cards.
Founded by a group of undergrads at Duke University and backed by behavioral science, to date Zogo Finance has teamed up with over 150 financial institutions in the US to serve financial literacy one pineapple at a time.
11. File Bankruptcy: Upsolve
upsolve / Via instagram.com
If you're in serious financial hot water and think you might need to press the "BK" 911 button and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Upsolve is a nonprofit platform that can help you file bankruptcy, free of charge.
While you most likely want to consult with a bankruptcy attorney as well, Upsolve has information to make sure filing bankruptcy is the best option for you to take. Upsolve has a customer support team, educational resources, and a community that can provide help.
Backed by the government and generous donors, Upsolve won't take any of your money and won't ask for your credit card. So you can rest assured that the tool is entirely free of charge.
12. Crush Debt: National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC)
Do you know of any other groups that help people get control of their finances? Give them a shoutout in the comments!
And for more stories about life and money, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.
