Continuing its 2021 investment into financial literacy and wellness for students of color in higher education, Wells Fargo is extending its Our Money Matters (OMM) program. As well as a financial literacy program, it also included tools to assist in easing food and housing insecurity, with the long-term aim of helping to close the racial gap in financial health and wealth retention.
As Forbes reported, the program was endowed with $5.6 million from the Wells Fargo Foundation and was administered by the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition (HBCU CDAC). At the time, it was expected for the program to grow beyond the seven HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions it started with to potentially 25 institutions over the next three years.
According to Diane Goins, executive vice president of Wells Fargo’s Banking Inclusion Division, who told The Griot, “Financial literacy is a real entry point where a difference can be made in the community, and in working with HBCUs, we are giving the necessary financial education and resources to tomorrow’s leaders.”
The OMM program consists of several points, the first being an online hub where students can access financial literacy education and personal finance tools, the second is a curriculum integrating general education and degree programs into a financial curriculum which fosters financial literacy, and the third is a service suite that gives access to resources for well being, in partnership with partner universities.
According to Goins, the program has slightly outpaced initial projections, in year two of the program, OMM has been able to serve 15,600 students across 28 institutions. The program does not intend to limit its inclusion to programs like Howard University or Morehouse College, which already receive plenty of assistance, but they want to democratize access across HBCUs to those smaller, lesser known programs as well.
As Goins notes, “We have really seen great interest and engagement in the platform, and we want to continue to expand. We want to also include the smaller HBCUs and not just the largest ones that get the most attention.”
Goins also told The Griot that in select cities, there are Operation Hope financial coaches that are in certain Wells Fargo locations, and students enrolled at partner institutions do not need to have an account to be allowed to use these services. The program represents a tremendous value for students who may come from communities where the only way to pay for their education is to take out loans, and risk a hit to their credit upon defaulting on loan payments. By all accounts, the program has been a success so far, and as more time goes on even more HBCUs and MSI’s could see themselves added to Wells Fargo’s financial literacy program.
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