What is the name of your organization?
Women's Money Matters
What is the name of your solution?
Economic Empowerment Hub
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Launch a digital gateway equipping low income individuals/families with credit-building tools & support to achieve sustainable economic independence
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Massachusetts, USA
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
USA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Access to financial services is critical to economic mobility, yet families living on low incomes—especially women and people of color—are disproportionately excluded from mainstream credit systems. Many lack usable credit or are entirely credit invisible, forcing them to rely on high-cost alternatives that widen wealth disparities and hinder financial progress (Joint Economic Committee, 2022).
More than 20% of participants in WMM financial wellness programs cite credit and debt as their most significant financial challenges. With limited resources, they struggle to access traditional credit-building tools like credit cards or loans, making it nearly impossible to establish credit, perpetuating a cycle of financial exclusion and vulnerability.
Financial literacy and personalized, 1:1 coaching are essential for breaking this cycle and helping families climb the economic ladder. Individuals who participated in credit building programs significantly increased their credit scores, with many experiencing improvements within just a few months (CFPB, 2020), laying the groundwork for lasting financial stability.
The Hub will meet this need by providing underserved individuals with digital access to credit-building tools, financial education, and personalized coaching. This technology innovation such as facilitating rent reporting to credit bureaus— families are equipped with the support and knowledge needed to achieve financial independence
What is your solution?
The Hub is a digital one-stop center to help low-income individuals/families build financial stability and long-term wealth. It combines personalized coaching, smart financial tools, and trusted resources—tailored to the real-life challenges and goals of those living on low incomes—into one easy-to-use platform designed to support the journey toward financial independence. Supports include:
Personalized Support: participants are matched with a financial coach who helps create a step-by-step plan toward their goals—like improving credit, managing debt, or building savings.
Smart Financial Tools: a customized budgeting dashboard to track income, expenses, credit-building tools, a debt payoff planner—designed to help users understand, organize, and improve finances.
Employment, Career and Wealth Resources: access to tools for job search/career growth including benefit cliff calculators, Career Navigator, Entrepreneurship Support, & Coach Connection - Resume Review, Interview Prep.
Wraparound Support: resources for childcare, transportation, cash assistance (like UBI pilots). WMM would expand its resource library, providing tools throughout the user journey.
Wealth Building: Net Worth Tracker, Home Buying Supports, Tools such as Baby Steps, 529s & Matched Savings
Technology Backbone: integrates API-based tools for credit tracking, budgeting, rent reporting, and will continue to evolve using participant/volunteer feedback
https://plan.womensmoneymatters.org/organization/plan-womensmoneymatters-org
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The Hub will serve low-income Massachusetts residents striving for financial stability but face systemic barriers to building wealth to improve their long-term economic stability. Budgeting alone won’t lift someone out of poverty but access to the right information, tools, and resources is essential to achieving financial goals and building a more secure future. Unlike many financial platforms on the market today, the tools we are developing are designed solely to empower, educate, and support economic mobility, not to sell or upsell. Individuals we are providing service to are often excluded from traditional financial services or offered products that do more harm than good.
The Hub will be a digital gateway to financial tools, education, and personalized one-on-one coaching. Far from static, it is designed to evolve, shaped by participant feedback and the real-life financial challenges our community faces with long-term impact in mind. Future enhancements include tools like student loan or credit card debt consolidation, ensuring the Hub continues to meet participants’ needs with practical, responsive solutions, helping participants navigate the most pressing financial challenges they face. Your investment will help establish a dynamic, community-informed platform that becomes the go-to resource for financial empowerment across the Commonwealth.