Rainbow PUSH Announces Financial Ed Program

NEW YORK - – Wells Fargo & Company has announced a new national alliance with the Citizenship Education Fund, an affiliate of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, to provide financial education training to African American clergy, parishioners and Wells Fargo customers beginning in 2011. The initiative, called the One Thousand Churches Connected Save Our Homes Financial Literacy Program, marks an unprecedented collaboration between Wells Fargo and the civil rights organization to help provide educational resources that improve the financial success of African Americans.

Rev. Jackson will be joined by Georgette “Gigi” Dixon, senior vice president, director of national partnerships for Wells Fargo, at a special ministers’ luncheon and seminar themed, “The Role of the Church in the 21st Century.” They’ll jointly introduce the ambitious project before an expected audience of nearly 400 guests, representing religious leaders, their administrators and members from the Southeast region. The luncheon is being hosted today at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 265 Peachtree St., from noon to 2:15 p.m. Rev. Jackson and Dixon will share the podium with fellow participants Bishop Paul Morton, Dr. T. Dewitt Smith, Bishop William Phillips DeVeaux, Bishop James Washington, and keynote speaker Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.

“Wells Fargo strongly believes that the solution to today’s challenging financial times is education,” says Dixon. “We are focused on long-term economic development in the African American community, but we know our customers must be empowered with the knowledge they need to succeed. This partnership with the Citizenship Education Fund will provide a powerful avenue that fosters a more open dialogue. This announcement underscores Wells Fargo’s commitment to financial education and forging relationships with national African American organizations.”

Together Wells Fargo and the Citizenship Education Fund are training financial education coordinators in 1,500 churches at six Citizenship Education Fund sites across the country. As part of this effort, Wells Fargo is using its free money management program Hands on Banking® to educate church members and communities about how to manage their money, establish credit, invest, and save for the future. For more information visit www.wellsfargo.com/handsonbanking.

Wells Fargo offers a variety of educational tools and resources to help consumers better manage their spending, save more and pay down debt. For example:

Wells Fargo’s Smarter Credit™ center. An online resource at wellsfargo.com/smarter_credit that provides information and services to help customers be smarter about credit — whether it’s establishing credit for the first time, reducing debt, getting more credit, or managing and protecting credit for the long term.

Rapid alerts. A free service that sends customers a text message to their mobile phone when their credit card is used, helping them track their spending and better manage their finances. The alerts tell them about purchases exceeding a set amount and helps cardholders spot potential fraud.

My Spending Report with Budget Watch. A free online money management tool that helps customers create a budget, set goals, and monitor their progress throughout the month.

My Savings Plan™ . A free online tool that provides Wells Fargo savings account customers an easy way to save toward a goal, automatically monitoring progress.

Wells Fargo Debt Pay Down Solution. A three-part solution designed to help customers pay down their debt faster so they can increase their savings.