Building a sustainable movement is hard work, but finding a way to continue the unfinished work of the Freedman’s Bank of 1865 (a bank chartered by President Abraham Lincoln, and run by businessman and freedom fighter Frederick Douglass, with a mission to ‘teach freed slaves about money…’) was the only pathway forward for me and Operation HOPE.
And so, we set out, about this very work, first founding Operation HOPE on May 5th, 1992, immediately following the civil unrest of 1992 in South Central Los Angeles, and then we launched the HOPE Inside network of offices in earnest around 2014. And then came the spiritual calling of George Floyd, in 2020, and the work of ‘social justice through an economic lens’ surged here at Operation HOPE.
Today we stand at more than 200 HOPE Inside locations nationwide, in more than 45 states. And one of our most important partnerships is with First Horizon Bank, and their CEO Bryan Jordan.
Today we are proud to say that HOPE Inside now represents approximately 10% of all First Horizon Bank branches throughout their system.
They have been a great partner, and through them we have forged a great partnership with Memphis Mayor Strickland, and through our offices — countless homeowners, small business owners and new entrepreneurs from underserved communities.
Our goal is 1,000 HOPE Inside locations nationwide by 2025.
John Hope Bryant, founder, Operation HOPE