12 Companies And Nonprofits That Are Dedicated To Helping People Out Financially

Yup, they exist.

Toss a stone in any direction in the interwebs, and you'll find a scourge of money management apps, financial platforms, and startups in the fintech space that can help you shore up an emergency fund, dig out of a debt hole, and repair your credit.

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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.

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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

SaverLife 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

Save To Win @savetowin

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.

05:00 PM - 22 Apr 2020

Shutterstock / Via Twitter: @savetowin

If you're a member of a credit union, Save to Win is a savings account that makes it fun to save. How? By offering cash prizes. Here's how it works: You open a Save to Win savings account. And each time you save $25, you're entered to win one of 150 monthly prizes of $25. You can win up to $5,000. These drawings happen four times a year.

So the more you save, the more chances you have to score a cash prize. And like any other deposit account with a credit union, your money is backed up with insurance and does earn a bit of interest.

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

Selffinancial / Via instagram.com

Accion 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 score will 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

Facebook: oportun / Oportun youtube.com

If you're in need of some financing but have a thin credit file, no credit history whatsoever, or a low credit score, look toward Oportun. It's a financing platform that is dedicated to helping you establish credit. You can either get a personal loan between $300 to $10,000 or a credit card with a credit limit between $300 to $1,000. While the interest rates are on the high end, Oportun will work with you on a payment term that works with your budget and situation. 

Note: Oportun is a for-profit company; there will be a hard pull on your credit, and you will have to pay interest fees, but it's an option to consider if you're trying to stay away from the pawn shop or payday loans.

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

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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

Elevate @ElevateCorp

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

09:34 PM - 15 Jul 2021

Twitter: @ElevateCorp

If you need a line of credit, you can tap into a credit line from the lending platform Elastic. Elastic is one of the brands created by Elevate, a company that serves Americans with non-prime credit scores (think: FICO score of 700 or under) and little or no savings. Lines of credit can be anywhere from $500 to $4,500. While there's no interest fee, if you request a cash advance, there's a fee of anywhere from 5% to 10% taken out and additional fees for carrying a balance month to month. Though the fees can add up, Elastic can still be a better option than traditional payday loans — especially if you're able to pay off the balance quickly.

Besides there being no interest fee, Elastic will report your payments to the credit bureaus, which can bump up your score. Plus, if you aren't able to pay off your line of credit balance within 10 months, a cooling-off period kicks in. What this means is you won't be able to request any cash advances until you've hit a zero balance for 20 days straight to protect your credit.

9. Get Educated: CFPB's Resources for Spanish Speakers

CFPB en español @CFPBespanol

Tenemos información actualizada y recursos para que se proteja y maneje sus finanzas en estos tiempos difíciles. https://t.co/l0YbWpoxCb

04:00 PM - 25 Feb 2022

Twitter: @CFPBespanol / Shutterstock

If you're more fluent and comfortable communicating in Spanish, then you'll want to check out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s resources for Spanish speakers. The CFPB has long had your financial back, and on their site you'll find educational resources for buying a home, how to read your credit report, to comparing auto loan offers, all en español. There's also a Spanish glossary of financial terms that's super handy and bookmark worthy.

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)

NFCC @NFCC

More than half (51%) of credit card holders have increased their credit balance as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/TavzHUmCf4 #nfcc #creditcounseling #inflation #debt #creditcards #interestrates

12:29 AM - 21 Mar 2022

Twitter: @NFCC

If you're looking for a way to tackle your mounting debt load, look for a nonprofit credit counseling agency. While there might be a small fee, these organizations have your best interests at heart. Of course, you'll want to read up on reviews of a specific company, but chances are you'll find them to be super helpful and charge a reasonable fee. You can check out a list of such nonprofits through the 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.