GREENPATH INC
Mission Statement
Empowering people to lead financially healthy lives.
About This Cause
GreenPath is working to remix the American Dream so it works for EVERYONE! GreenPath’s intended impact is to help US adults with income who are deciding to improve their financial resilience and thereby their quality of life. We do this through a unique, holistic approach, with a theory of change incorporating empathy, human-centered design, behavioral economics, partnerships, engagement, outreach, and promoting systems change. We help our clients make forward progress through decreasing debt and increasing savings, cash flow, and credit scores. GreenPath improves the financial well-being of our clients through a wide menu of offerings, including: FINANCIAL COUNSELING Our NFCC-certified professional Financial Wellness Experts (counselors) work with compassion to help consumers understand their financial situation and goals, explain their debt management options, offer recommendations for improving money management and getting out of debt, and develop personalized action plans for consumers to meet their goals. There is no charge to the consumer for this counseling, which can be conducted over the phone or in-person at one of our locations throughout the nation. Our Experts strive to clarify consumers’ financial situations and increase their financial capability. Working together, the counselor and consumer will set realistic goals, develop a baseline budget, and create an action plan to improve their financial practices and situation. Consumers will receive guidance to overcome their immediate concerns and address core financial competencies. This includes areas such as earning, spending, understanding credit, saving, and protecting finances. Referrals for community or public benefits are given when appropriate. Follow up contact is encouraged to help consumers convert financial knowledge into practice to improve their financial position and reduce debt. YOUR MONEY GUIDE FINANCIAL COACHING Going beyond counseling, coaches cheer clients on and hold them accountable to reach their goals through scheduled longer-term check-ins with exclusive content and resources, helping improve their money habits and gain confidence in their financial decisions. DEBT MANAGEMENT PLANNING Where appropriate, GreenPath will administer a full-service Debt Management Plan (DMP) through which a client makes deposits to GreenPath -- typically via ACH -- based on their pay schedule, which we use to pay their creditors. As an incentive for working with us, credit card companies often lower interest rates, waive late fees and over limit fees, and stop collection activity. This helps participants to pay off unsecured debt quicker, while paying much less toward interest and fees. Budget and debt counseling is free to the participant, but there can be a fee for the Debt Management Plan. DMP fees are based on the amount of debt being handled, and the DMP is not recommended unless it appears that the benefits outweigh the cost. Debt Management Plans can be a very powerful tool, giving the structure and long-term support that many participants need to successfully pay down their debt. CREDIT REPORT REVIEW GreenPath can help consumers evaluate their credit report, learn to dispute inaccurate information, protect themselves from identity theft, and understand how to manage their credit score. FORECLOSURE PREVENTION GreenPath HUD-certified housing experts explain options for keeping a home, or getting out of a house that is unaffordable. Our counselors will talk to lenders to explore options and help clients apply for specific programs. We also include updated resources and advice, including special forbearance and government programs. HOMEBUYER COUNSELING Our housing counselors also work with clients to guide and support their dreams of homeownership, helping them navigate the process and make informed decisions. Our sessions include knowledge and tools to understand the process of homebuying, affordability, types of mortgages, improving credit, accessing down-payment assistance, affordable loan programs, and many other key topics to help make a home purchase a valuable part of long-term financial health and wellness. RENTAL COUNSELING GreenPath’s rental counseling works with struggling clients to assess their situation, explain the options or solutions available, and help clients create a detailed action plan. We also include updated resources and advice, including special government programs. REVERSE MORTGAGE COUNSELING Our specially-trained reverse mortgage counselors help seniors understand the costs and structure of these loans, including payout options, homeowner costs, tax implications, and other potential benefits and drawbacks. They also assist those who already have a reverse mortgage and are having trouble paying property taxes or insurance. STUDENT LOAN COUNSELING For student loan borrowers, GreenPath can help them access their loan information, explore repayment options and contact their student loan servicer if appropriate. We also include pandemic updated resources and advice, including special government programs for payment pauses and loan rehabilitation. FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND WELLNESS EXPERIENCES GreenPath offers a variety of free educational resources and tools to make it easier for consumers to make healthy financial choices in debt management, credit, budgeting, and more. While we still provide traditional workshops, we have also embraced a years-long trend of people gravitating toward more immediate digital and interactive materials. We offer Financial Wellness and Education Experiences both directly and in partnership with community partners. These include financial literacy workshops, scheduled live electronic webinars, our GreenPath Learning Lab online education, at-your-own-pace online learning modules, eNewsletters, online calculators, our financial health tips blog, digital apps, a virtual financial coach, worksheets and guides, and many other forms of delivery.