Financial Health Network (FHN)

The FHN fosters partnerships across business, finance, and policy sectors to pursue left-of-center social investment goals, including with prominent financial firms such as JPMorgan, Citigroup, Discover, Capital One, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Bank, and more. ^{3  4}

The FHN has received significant funding from left-of-center organizations, including the Ford Foundation and the Blackrock Charitable Foundation. ^{5  6}

Background

The Financial Health Network (FHN) was founded in 2004 as the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI). Its early work focused on producing research on Americans whose finances were not handled by the banking system. In 2007, the group launched Catalyst Fund L.P., a financial technology (fintech) venture capital company that invested in early-stage, for-profit fintech companies. In 2010, CFSI expanded its venture capital work with the founding of Core Innovation Capital and the Financial Capability Innovation Funds, providing funding for nonprofit organizations. ⁷

In 2014, CFSI launched a membership program to bring together business leaders and corporations interested in advancing left-of-center social and political goals, such as serving so-called underprivileged communities. That same year, the CFSI partnered with JPMorgan to launch its Financial Solutions Lab to advance the financial health of low- to moderate-income individuals. In 2o20, CFSI rebranded itself as the Financial Health Network to reflect its broader intent to engage leaders across finance, academia, and policy. ⁷

Initiatives

Research

One of the Financial Health Network’s main activities is producing research on financial trends for American consumers and small businesses. Its FinHealth Spend research initiative seeks to estimate how much U.S. households spend on financial products and services, such as credit cards and auto loans to persuade financial institutions and policymakers to promote consumer-first policies, with a special emphasis on helping demographic minorities manage their financial wealth. ⁸ The FHN’s Financial Health Pulse initiative seeks to use surveys and consumer data to provide consumers with financial investment and savings opportunities. ⁹

A September 2024 Financial Health Pulse research report concluded that 70 percent of American households are in poor financial health, indicating specifically that credit card debt was a major financial strain on American families. ¹⁰

Programs and Partnerships

In 2014, the FHN partnered with JPMorgan to create its Financial Solutions Lab, a research program that sought to provide financial solutions to recurrent financial health challenges faced by low- to moderate-income households and what the FHN refers to as “Black and Latine communities, and other underserved consumers.” The Financial Solutions Lab concluded its work in 2022 but claimed to help over 30 million people improve their financial situation. ¹¹ While still operational, the Financial Solutions Lab partnered with JPMorgan to open a first-of-its-kind branch in the heart of Harlem to provide financial literacy events and workshops in addition to the ordinary functions of the bank. ²

In 2019, the FHN and BlackRock launched a partnership to create the Emergency Savings Initiative (ESI), a $50 million project to educate and encourage American consumers to invest in an emergency savings fund and improve overall financial stability. The ESI is also managed in partnership with Commonwealth and the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Common Cents Lab. ^{7  12}

In 2023, the FHN partnered with Discover and Capital One to launch its Discover Financial Health Improvement Fund, a startup fund for small, early-stage companies to improve their businesses and the financial situation of their employees. The program was created with the specific goal of providing “financial health solutions for consumers living on low to moderate incomes (LMI) and small businesses.” ³

The FHN maintains several funding organizations and institutional partners. The group’s chief founding partner is the Ford Foundation, and its funding groups include the AARP, the AARP Foundation, Bank of America, the Gates Foundation, Capital One, Citigroup, Charles Schwab Bank, the F.B. Heron Foundation, JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Visa. ⁴

The FHN has also partnered with Bank of America to restore trust in financial institutions following the 2008 recession through the bank’s Responsible Growth initiative. The initiative claims to rely more heavily on customer input and to elevate left-of-center social investment guidelines, such as investing more in so-called “underserved communities.” Through the partnership, the FHN has helped Bank of America obtain a J.D. Power financial health support certification, a program J.D. Power developed in partnership with the FHN to assess the commitment of financial institutions to invest in underserved communities. ¹³

In September 2025, the FHN released a Financial Health Pulse research report that concluded that less than half of low-income Americans have enough savings to cover at least three months of expenses, and less than a third are confident they are on track to meet long-term financial goals. In response to the report, the Citi Foundation announced a $35 million 2026 Community Finance Initiative which will select 70 nonprofit organizations that will each receive $500,000 to serve low- to moderate-income households across the U.S. ^{14  15}

Leadership

Jennifer Tescher is the founder and chief executive officer of the Financial Health Network. She is the primary host of the EMERGE Everywhere podcast and is a columnist for Forbes. She is regularly quoted across media, including the New York Times, CNBC, NPR’s Marketplace, and more. Before founding the FHN, Tescher worked as a journalist for the Charlotte Observer and in the financial sector at ShoreBank. She currently is vice chair of Elevate and a board member of FORWARD and Attune. She serves as an advisory board member for several organizations, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Bank of America, the U.S. Bank, and the Chicago chapter of Facing History and Ourselves. Tescher received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and received a second master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. ¹⁶

Sarah Gordon is the president of FHN. She has worked for FHN for 17 years and has led research and programs, supported startups, overseen marketing and communications, and directed fundraising. Gordon helped create the Financial Solutions Lab. She previously worked as an associate director at Jane Addams Resource Corporation and also spent eight years on the board of Moneythink, a group recognized for its work by President Barack Obama. Gordon is a graduate of Northwestern University and currently serves on the board of the Evanston Community Foundation and on Capital One’s Consumer Advisory Council. ¹⁷

Gina Harman is the chair of the FHN board of directors. She previously served as the executive director of the Central Astoria Community Development Organization, the executive director of the Washington Square Day Care Cooperative, and president of Harman International’s consumer division. Harman also served as the chief administrative officer of the Accion Opportunity Fund. She received her B.A. from the State University of New York, Empire State College, and is a graduate of the Nonprofit Management Institute at Columbia University. ¹⁸

Finances

In 2024, the Financial Health Network reported $15,680,196 in total revenues, $11,426,97 in expenses, and $22,786,307 in total assets. ¹⁹

The FHN has received extensive funding from several left-of-center organizations. Between 2007 and 2017, the Ford Foundation issued 11 grants to FHN totaling $6,655,000. ⁵ In 2020 and 2021, the Blackrock Charitable Foundation issued two grants to the FHN totaling $4,520,906. ^{20  6}