Tennessee’s BetterFi Honored with National AmeriCorps Award
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, is proud to announce the 2019 Excellence in AmeriCorps Award for Most Significant Innovation has been awarded to BetterFi, an offshoot of the South Cumberland Plateau VISTA Project of Coalmont, Tenn. AmeriCorps alumnus, Spike Hosch, who had the idea for the program, accepted the award on behalf of the organization at a gathering of national service leaders last week in Arlington, Va.
Now in their fifth year, the Excellence in AmeriCorps Awards were created to recognize the outstanding and innovative AmeriCorps programs, members, and alumni tackling our nation’s most-pressing challenges. The 2019 award winners accepted their awards as AmeriCorps marks its 25th anniversary, celebrating the more than 1 million Americans who have pledged to “get things done.”
BetterFi was nominated by the South Cumberland Plateau VISTA Project, sponsored by the University of the South, in the category of Most Significant Innovation, which recognizes an AmeriCorps program that has allowed the organization to expand the service or impact it provides.
The South Cumberland Plateau VISTA Project is dedicated to growing and strengthening communities through initiatives focused on education and economic development. A new initiative of the project evolved into the first 501(c)(3) started under the Tennessee AmeriCorps VISTA program: BetterFi. The brainchild of AmeriCorps VISTA alum Spike Hosch, the organization provides affordable consumer loans and financial coaching as an alternative to predatory payday and car title loans.
In his acceptance speech, Hosch said:
“It’s an honor to be here and it’s an honor to be helping our clients keep their money, to help them build budgets, to help them file their taxes for free, to help them make sure they can get to work, and to help them provide for their families rather than spend on interest and fees.”
“BetterFi is an innovative and effective program ,” said Chester Spellman, director of AmeriCorps. “By educating consumers and providing small emergency loans, they are saving borrowers from crippling debt. Their efforts have an enormous impact on people’s lives -- and that is the power of AmeriCorps."
“I’m delighted to congratulate Spike for receiving this distinguished award from AmeriCorps,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander. “Spike saw a need in his community and responded with a creative, thoughtful plan to make a difference in people’s lives, and I’m glad his service has been recognized.”
Since the program’s inception in 1994, more than 1 million AmeriCorps members have served the nation, earning more than $3.6 billion in education awards, or scholarships. Every year, 75,000 AmeriCorps members serve at schools, nonprofits, and community and faith-based organizations across the country. Their service prepares students for college, reduces crime and revitalizes cities, connects veterans to jobs, fights the opioid epidemic, rebuilds communities following disasters, preserves public lands, strengthens education, fosters economic opportunity, and more.
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About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through AmeriCorps and Senior Corps and leads the nation’s volunteering and service efforts. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.
About BetterFi
2019 Excellence in AmeriCorps Awards Ceremony. These awards were created to recognize outstanding and innovative AmeriCorps programs, members, and alumni tackling our nation’s most pressing challenges. One of five nationally selected awardees, BetterFi and the SCP VISTA Project received the award for Most Significant Innovation to an AmeriCorps Program. The innovation is BetterFi itself, which through its affordable consumer loans and financial programming is seeking to demonstrate a viable model that can serve as an alternative to predatory payday and car title loans. To learn more, visit http://www.betterfi.co.
About SCCF
South Cumberland Community Fund, established in January 2012, represents the first local philanthropic entity to serve the tri-county area of the South Cumberland Plateau in rural Tennessee. SCCF’s vision is that the Plateau be a place of hope and prosperity for all its residents and communities. To learn more, visit: http://www.southcumberlandcommunityfund.org.
About the University of the South
The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee, consists of a College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Theology, and a School of Letters. The University remains purposefully small and dedicated to building a sense of community, enrolling more than 1,700 undergraduates and approximately 100 students in the School of Theology. The University is located on 13,000 acres atop the South Cumberland Plateau in Sewanee, Tennessee, about 50 miles west of Chattanooga. To learn more, visit: http://www.sewanee.edu/.
