Over the course of four years (2019-2022), BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative completed 43 savings projects with industry partners, ranging from research to large-scale demonstration projects. During that time, ESI reached more than 10 million people with savings products and helped people save more than $2 billion in emergency savings.
The complete list of 43 projects and links to select case studies:
| Partner | Type of partner | ESI expert lead | Project type |
| Acorns | Fintech | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| ADP – Wisely | Payroll provider | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| ADP – Retirement services | Recordkeeper | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| AutoNation (Split deposit) | Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| AutoNation (Payroll card) | Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| AutoNation (Retirement plan – Voya) | Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| Best Buy | Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| The Fresh Market | Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| Levis/Red Tab Foundation | Employer | Financial Health Network | Demonstration |
| Mastercard – Branch |
Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Demonstration |
| Self |
Fintech | Financial Health Network | Demonstration |
| Treasury Department Federal Credit Union | Employer | Common Cents Lab | Demonstration |
| Truist |
Financial institution | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| UPS (Retirement plan – Voya) |
Employer | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| Varo | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Demonstration |
| Voya (Millennium Trust) | Recordkeeper | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| National Retailer w/ 300,000 hourly workers* | Employer | Financial Health Network | Demonstration |
| National asset management firm* | Financial institution | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| National asset management firm* | Recordkeeper | Commonwealth | Demonstration |
| Brightside | Fintech | Commonwealth | Test & Learn |
| Canary | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Community Empowerment Fund (CEF) | Nonprofit | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Dave | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Digital Federal Credit Union (Coin) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Digital Federal Credit Union (Loan refi) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Esusu | Fintech | Commonwealth | Test & Learn |
| Even | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Midwest Credit Union* | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Guadalupe Credit Union | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Inclusiv (Auto-save) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Inclusiv (Check cashing slip) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Inclusiv (Round up) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| PA Treasury – Keystone Scholars | Government | Commonwealth | Test & Learn |
| Propel | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Qapital 1 (Default to e-savings) | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Qapital 2 (Acct linking) | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| SaverLife | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| SaverLife (Stimulus) | Fintech | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Self-Help | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Shared Harvest | Nonprofit | Commonwealth | Test & Learn |
| Virginia Credit Union | Financial institution | Common Cents Lab | Test & Learn |
| Community Development Banking Association (CDBA) |
Financial institution | Commonwealth | Research |
*Organizations with active projects between 2019-2022 requesting anonymity
For more information on learnings, additional case studies, and results, download BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative Impact and Learnings Report 2019-2022.
About BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative
In 2019, BlackRock announced a $50 million philanthropic commitment to help millions of people living on low to moderate incomes gain access to and increase usage of proven savings strategies and tools — ultimately helping them establish an important safety net. The size and scale of the savings problem requires the knowledge and expertise of established industry experts that are recognized leaders in savings research and interventions on an individual and corporate level. Led by its Social Impact team, BlackRock is partnering with innovative industry experts Common Cents Lab, Commonwealth, and the Financial Health Network to give the initiative a comprehensive and multilayered approach to address the savings crisis.
