Operation HOPE and Fed Discuss Expanding Economic Inclusion During Financial Literacy Month

WASHINGTON–Today, John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Operation HOPE, met with Jerome H. Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to discuss opportunities to expand financial literacy, strengthen economic resilience, and broaden access to the tools Americans need to build lasting financial security.

Held during Financial Literacy Month, the meeting underscored the national importance of equipping Americans with the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills necessary to fully participate in the economy. Their conversation highlighted the importance of ensuring that financial literacy is not viewed as a niche issue, but as a foundational economic priority tied directly to upward mobility, community stability, and long-term prosperity. Bryant and Chair Powell explored how financial education, economic inclusion, and long-term financial capability can help create stronger households, stronger communities, and a stronger nation.

The conversation also reflected themes central to Bryant’s new book, Capitalism for All — namely, that the benefits of the American economic system must be better understood, more broadly accessible, and more intentionally extended to those who have historically been left out of wealth creation and economic mobility. Bryant has long argued that financial literacy is the civil rights issue of this generation, and that expanding economic understanding is essential to building a more inclusive and resilient free-market economy. Mr. Bryant presented Chairman Powell with a signed copy of the book.

“I want to commend Chairman Powell for his extraordinary service to the country, and his efforts helping navigate the economy through periods of global uncertainty, including the pandemic, to ensure economic stability for all Americans,” said Mr. Bryant. “During Financial Literacy Month, this conversation is especially timely. If we want an economy that works for everyone, we must make sure that everyone has the tools to understand it, participate in it, and benefit from it.”

Today’s meeting builds on Bryant’s continued engagement with leaders across government, business, and civil society to advance financial dignity and inclusive economic growth. It also reinforces Operation HOPE’s mission to help more Americans move from financial survival to financial security and, ultimately, to economic self-determination.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $4.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.