Operation HOPE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in an ever-changing economy, today announced that its partnership with the City of Aurora, Illinois to provide Aurora resident public school kindergarteners with an educational savings account has officially launched. Operation HOPE was selected by the City as the non-profit partner to manage the newly-established program, called Aurora’s Promise. The program supports the mission of Operation HOPE and the core values of the Financial Literacy for All (FL4A) movement, which strives to embed financial literacy into all aspects of American life – especially in underserved communities.
Aurora’s Promise will give each of the City’s kindergarten students an educational savings account with a starting balance of $50. The goal is for parents and caregivers to contribute to the savings accounts over the years, and funds will be able to be used for any educational expenses after high school, including college or trade school. The City will also be developing financial literacy programs as part of Aurora’s Promise. The program seeks to play a critical role in improving financial literacy and expanding opportunities for higher education by providing Aurora students with a strong financial foundation. Spearheaded by Mayor Richard Irvin and approved by the Aurora City Council, the City of Aurora will contribute nearly $2 million to Operation HOPE to support this impactful program, which is the first municipal child savings program in Illinois.
“We are thrilled to partner with the City of Aurora to bring this forward-thinking initiative to its youngest residents,” said John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE. “By planting the seeds of financial literacy early—starting with a savings account for kindergarteners—we’re not just helping individual children prepare for college or trade school, we’re setting entire families and communities on a path toward long-term economic stability. This investment is about more than money - it’s about hope, opportunity, and ultimately, strengthening communities.”
For more than 30 years, Operation HOPE has implemented impactful financial literacy initiatives, including a similar child savings program through its partnership with the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Public Schools, which was announced in 2021. Through this program, more than 10,500 accounts have been opened as of April 30, 2025, offering students and their families a meaningful start toward long-term financial empowerment. The program has become a model for how local governments can invest in the financial futures of their youngest residents.
For more details about Aurora’s Promise, visit: https://www.aurora.il.us/City-Services/Auroras-Promise
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 $3.2 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.
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Contacts
Operation HOPE Contact:
Sarah Troutt, Mendel Communications
sarah@mendelcommunications.com
