Financial wellness

We're proud to be an active member of Financial Health Network, an organization of business leaders, policy makers and innovators working together to improve financial health for everyone. In partnership with FHN, we've released research on the correlations between financial health and mental health to further guide our strategic investments and financial wellness roadmap.  

Financial Health Network and Bread Financial partnered on a qualitative research brief on the connections between financial and mental health. The research shows that these two components of people’s lives are deeply intertwined. The study moves beyond the numbers to tell the stories of real people coping with financial stress and poor mental well-being. Their testimonials include perspectives on:     

• The cycle between financial stress and poor mental well-being
• The stress of meeting day-to-day needs  
• Financial and non-financial strategies that are helpful for managing stress 

Read the Full Report

A nonprofit organization offering no-cost technical training and career support for people who aspire to join the tech industry in Columbus, Ohio, Per Scholas’ mission is to advance economic equity by bridging the gap between skilled talent and leading businesses. 

By providing equitable access to tech education and employer networks, Per Scholas has helped more than 25,000 individuals launch successful tech careers, the majority of whom are people of color. To continually enhance the financial literacy and skills of its participants, Per Scholas, with the help of its Bread Financial grant, also offers wellness and wealth workshops throughout its curriculum and provides continuing education for alumni like Kalib Travis who, as a service desk technician, now earns nearly double what he did prior to the program.  

It was overwhelming in terms of how much knowledge we had to take in,” said Travis. “But there was support the whole time, from my teachers, my classmates, professional development, and from Per Scholas as a whole. It was so well-organized and well-taught; it was awe-inspiring. And the amount of information and knowledge I gained throughout the program was not something I could have done on my own in just 15 weeks.

In 2023, Per Scholas enrolled 215 students, who had an average pre-training income of $17,670. After graduating with a 90% success rate, these students launched their tech careers with an average income of $45,000.

Girls Inc. of New York City inspires girls to be strong, smart and bold through various life-transforming programs, including its Her Future financial literacy curriculum funded in part by its Bread Financial grant. Using experiential education and technology, Her Future is helping teen girls transform their relationship with money by meeting girls where they are and integrating into their everyday lives.

In 2023, the program served 2,600 students across the city who gained essential skills and knowledge to manage their money and developed confidence and interest in careers in the financial sector. Upon completion of the curriculum, 96% of participants expressed interest in a career in finance or business, 67% of participants helped their family members with financial matters, and 100% of participants felt confident in making career and life decisions about money after learning about topics including credit score, credit debt and financial planning.

One participant benefiting from the program is Nahima, who first joined Girls Inc. of New York City in middle school. Currently a senior at Hunter College where she studies economics, Nahima is proud to be pursuing a career in a male-dominated field and plans to become an entrepreneur upon graduation.

When we were doing financial literacy [in eighth grade], I was thinking, 'Why are we doing this? What am I going to do with budgeting, banking and all that?'” said Nahima. “But now that I'm an adult, those classes have actually helped me a lot.

This community-based organization serves more than 3,000 Chicagoans annually and works to address the multifaceted needs of families through programs like its Family Hub, a resource that provides one-on-one coaching, employment and education resources and bilingual financial workshops focused on topics such as budgeting and money management.

With the support of Bread Financial, program participants received one-on-one coaching, employment and education resources and bilingual financial workshops focused on topics such as budgeting and money management, which enabled:

• 113 individuals to obtain or improved their employment
• 446 individuals to apply for at least one public benefit
• 82 individuals to receive job training or work-based learning