Delta Teams Up with Operation Hope

Delta is expanding its partnership with Atlanta-based Operation HOPE to help promote financial empowerment and inclusion and give employees the resources they need to achieve financial health.

Supporting financial wellness and economic empowerment are significant equity levers in Delta’s work to create a more just society. Operation HOPE’s Hope Inside the Workplace program specializes in credit and money management and will bring a number of workshops to Delta people, as well as one-on-one debt counseling and financial coaching opportunities.

“Operation HOPE is all about financial inclusion and empowerment,” said Delta’s Joanne Smith, E.V.P. and Chief People Officer. “This new partnership follows a year of the economic downturn caused by the global pandemic, as well as historic disparities and injustice. Delta is committed to taking care of and investing in financial health resources for our people.”

Delta tested Operation HOPE’s services with a small group of employees in 2020. Participants saw an average credit score improvement of 30 points and an average reduction in debt of more than $1,500.

In December, Delta CEO Ed Bastian hosted John Hope Bryant – Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE – in an employee Town Hall to share how his organization equips people with financial tools through programming and coaching.

“We are excited to join with Delta Air Lines to offer a new, comprehensive financial coaching model for their employees, as our first national HOPE Inside the Workplace partner,” Bryant said. “This initiative will not only help employees work through financial challenges but help them to achieve their financial dreams. Delta continues to invest in the wellbeing of their workforce, prioritizing their employees as key drivers for enhanced and sustainable value for the company, allowing them to deliver the exceptional customer service Delta is renowned for.”

Delta is also partnering with Operation HOPE to support its One Million Black Business and Entrepreneur Initiative (1MBB) program, a program designed to create one million new Black business owners and entrepreneurs by 2030 and help close the wealth gap caused by racial inequality and social injustice.