Be a HERO...

Who doesn’t want to be a hero?

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"Helping Everyone Reach Opportunities," or HERO, is all about making a difference in people's lives. While other financial counseling programs focus extensively on investments and asset building, HERO Community Development Certified Financial Counseling focuses on lending to people that most need loans. HERO allows lenders to “invent” their own qualified borrowers by coaching consumers to become credit worthy.

HERO was developed for organizations serving working-class populations, including cooperatives, government agencies, credit unions and other CDFIs. The program—which provides successful participants with a three year certification as a HERO Financial Counselor—increases staff ability to recognize consumers in financial distress, and appropriately intervene, helping them become ambassadors for your organization both at work, and with respect to family, friends and community contacts.

 

HERO provides training, testing and certification that allows your staff to:

• Better recognize and serve consumers in financial distress;

• Safely increase lending beyond A and B borrowers, driving up ROA and profitability;

• Cultivate effective partnerships with cooperatives and community organizations also trained through HERO, in order to achieve broader community revitalization.