Global Shipping Giants FedEx, UPS & DHL Deliver Financial Literacy Funding

In the latest move by international shipping and logistics titan FedEx to support financial education, the company announced this week that it has awarded a grant to Project HOPE to fund financial literacy services to empower families to take more control over their financial lives, as part of a larger initiative to address the economic vulnerability of individuals, families and communities impacted by health and other issues.

One of many examples of how the funds will be put to use for financial education programming is the portion of the FedEx funds dedicated to the development and launch of Village Savings & Loans groups, which offer group savings opportunities and provide loans and micro-credit mechanisms to support financially vulnerable individuals. Like many proponents of financial literacy, FedEx has long held that from a holistic point of view, financial education is essential to improving the overall health and quality of life of individuals in both developed and developing nations.

Junior Achievement funding also has been a major focus of the FedEx financial education commitment. By virtue of grants and the time dedicated by more than 600 employees, FedEx supports 350,000 JA students in 88 countries. The company also sponsors six regional Junior Achivement Company of the Year competitions that invite winning student teams in each country to present their business ideas to panels of experts, entrepreneurs and business leaders, including executives of FedEx.

FedEx also is a longtime supporter of UNCF, the nation’s oldest minority education assistance organization, which has used the FedEx funding to help provide more than 60,000 students with essential financial and economic skills through programs that foster discussions and forums on financial literacy and other related topics.

The comprehensive financial literacy focus of FedEx has extended beyond the funding of programs to a commitment to financially educate its own workforce. One of many examples of the support offered by FedEx to empower its employees to become more financially literate is the “Manage Your Money” e-series it developed through a partnership with Vanguard. In an effort to minimize the risk that employee 401(k) contributions would decline during periods of economic stress, FedEx engaged Vanguard to provide critical financial education to all FedEx employees. The initiative included an online financial literacy portal accessible to FedEx employees both at home and at work.

UPS also has been an avid financial supporter of financial education initiatives. The company received accolades from the financial literacy industry back in 2011 after it awarded Operation HOPE a $150,000 grant for the development and rollout of financial wellness programs, and UPS has been supporting financial literacy ever since.

DHL’s commitment to financial education is right in line with the company’s primary shipping and logistics competitors. DHL has not only supported “Me to We” programs, for example, that bring an alternative income source to women in economically disadvantaged communities, but also has provided funding to enable financial education programming tailored for those individuals.

The examples above are only a small subset of the funding support provided by major shipping companies to help take financial literacy to the next level in cities across the globe. Additional support for financial education from these and other major corporations in the months and years ahead is widely expected and will bode very well for financial education in the months and years ahead.