Workplace Financial Wellness Benefit Trusted Advisor Available to 1,500 Business Members Employing 65,000 New Yorkers

Establishes Employee Financial Wellness as a Benchmark for Good Business

NEW YORK, NY – July 11, 2018 – Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, a nonprofit social enterprise and a national leader in financial counseling, and Best for NYC, a collaboration between the City of New York and B Lab that supports businesses in making positive changes to their business practices, announce a new partnership to help Best for NYC’s members strengthen the financial health of their employees.

With this partnership, Best for NYC is providing Trusted Advisor, Neighborhood Trust’s workplace financial wellness benefit, as an exclusive offering to its2018 business members. The partnership aims to establish employee financial wellness as a benchmark for good business. The service will be available to the 1,500 businesseswithin the Best for NYC community. In total this partnership will grant more than 65,000 workers access to Trusted Advisor.

“Neighborhood Trust and Best for NYC share a vision of employee financial wellness as essential to a quality job. It’s not just the right thing to do—it’s good business,” said Justine Zinkin, Neighborhood Trust’s CEO. “Our partnership will enable hundreds of small-to-medium-sized businesses in New York City to invest in their employees’ financial health in meaningful ways: getting out of debt, saving, building credit, and taking full advantage of existing workplace financial benefits such as direct deposit and 401k plans. Employees’ paychecks will go further and businesses will be rewarded with a less stressed, more productive and loyal workforce.”

“Businesses across New York City know that investments in their workforce realize returns for their business andtheir workers; however, small- and medium-size businesses too often lack the tools,” said Christine Curella, Director of Business Initiatives and Job Quality, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development. “By working with businesses to improve their practices, including offering employee financial wellness services, we are helping workers achieve financial stability and employers retain their workforce, a critical issue in this tight labor market. We are proud to bring Trusted Advisorto the Best for NYC community as part of our effort to identify and scale innovation that can drive inclusive growth for businesses, and support wealth-building opportunities for working New Yorkers.”

Through Trusted Advisor, employees at Best for NYC businesses will be able to select from a roster of Neighborhood Trust’s expert financial counselors via phone, Skype or mobile device. Trusted Advisorcombines live guidance with Neighborhood Trust’s suite of digital financial planning and management tools and access to reliable financial products to help employees optimize their paycheck and begin saving for the future. Trusted Advisorfees are waived for Best for NYC members.

Led by the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, Best for NYC is a citywide initiative that seeks to inspire and equip businesses to take actions that strengthen bottom-line and improve the quality of jobs for New Yorkers. Businesses first use an analytics and impact measurement tool, developed by the global business certification organization B Lab, to identify opportunities to invest in their workforce and their growth, including investing in on-the-job training and offering services and products that increase worker well-being and retention. Businesses can then connect to partners across New York City whose programs can help them take action. In fall 2018, the City of New York and B Lab will recognize businesses that have invested in their workers, as part of the third annual Best for NYC Awards.

To learn more about Trusted Advisor as a Best for NYC member benefit, please visit http://bestfor.nyc.

About Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners

Neighborhood Trust is a nonprofit social enterprise empowering workers to take control of their finances and achieve financial health. With more than 20 years of financial counseling experience, we blend our trusted financial guidance with innovative technology solutions and actionable financial products to help workers’ paychecks go further. Neighborhood Trust embeds our services where workers get paid, access financial services and make financial decisions. Annually we reach more than 10,000 low- and moderate-income workers across the country. Today, our Trusted Advisorworkplace financial benefit service is in 29 states and includes customers such as Staples, FreshDirect, and Allen Health Care. For more information, visit www.neighborhoodtrust.org.

About Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development

The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (WKDEV) was established in 2014 to coordinate the City’s workforce initiatives. In 2014, the Mayor convened the Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force, to set priorities and principles for the City’s employment and training programs that align with the needs of employers. The office published Career Pathways: One City Working Together, which laid out a multi-year vision for transforming the City’s vast array of workforce programs to better serve New Yorkers in building skills employers seek, improving job quality and increasing system and policy coordination. The WKDEV office is a policy and strategy making body which oversees the Workforce Development Board – a body majority of business members required under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014, and coordinates with the Mayor’s Fund Center for Youth Employment (CYE), a public/private initiative to coordinate, expand and improve workforce services for young adults. For more information, visit http://www.nyc.gov/wkdev