John Hope Bryant

Why I Do What I Do

I do it for THIS reason.  To see THIS expression on a young person's face.  Just look at this ~ it is literally priceless. And all I had to do here was to sign and give him a copy of my bestselling business book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass).  Did you "get" what I just said?  I gave the young man a BUSINESS book.  Not fiction (all good by the way), or a comic, or some rap lyrics (all good too).  But a book on business and leadership, and inspired in the right way, this young man just lit up like a Christmas tree.

This is why I do what I do, and why I believe so passionately in our work in financial dignity at Operation HOPE, and the promise of the silver rights movement.

Our young people increasingly don't have something tangible of even aspirational to believe in, and as a result, we are losing them.

12 HOPE Volunteers and Partners Honored on MLK Day by the White House at Ebenezer Church

 

• 
• 
• 

Dr. Martin Luther King is often quoted stating "Everybody can be great...because everybody can serve." In this spirit it was Operation HOPE's honor to recommend the below individuals to receive the Presidential Drum Major for Service Volunteer Service Award! Congratulations to all! We are very proud of you.

The MLK Drum Majors for Service Award was created to acknowledge and celebrate volunteers who perform extraordinary everyday acts of service with reliability and commitment, but who seldom receive recognition. On behalf of the Senior Administration Officials of the White House Offices of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Office of Public Engagement, the Corporation for National and Community Service, Operation HOPE, and representatives from faith and community organizations across America we salute these individuals as beacons in their community, and a Drum Major leading the charge and making a difference.

In particular, we thank you for your service and personal contribution to the betterment of Metro Atlanta.  

All honorees joined Reverend Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, Senior Pastor of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church to attend service on Sunday, January 15th, 2012, where they were recognized.  Ms. Valerie Jarrett, representing President Obama, was also present and gave inspiring remarks to the volunteers. Congressman John Lewis and Mrs. Christine King-Farris, sister of Dr. King.

2012 Presidential Drum Major For Service Volunteer Service Award Recipients:

Starlyn Baxter          Associated Credit Union
Bill Cheeks              ABBA HOPE SE Board
MoniqueTaylor         Boy Scouts of America
Scott Brown            Georgia Pacific - Youth Entrepreneurs
Barbie Palmer         Bank of America
Kelli Bacote-Boone  Atlanta Public School, ATL READS
Grace Lee               Georgia State University
Gary Dryden           Chubb Insurance
Brandi Harvey          Young Fit and Fly
Kim Braud                Nationwide Insurance
Greg Clay                City of East Point
Lillian Lane               Beal Bank

 

White House Highlights James Bailey as a “Champion of Change” For Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The entire Operation HOPE family is proud of James "Jay" Bailey. I am personally very, very proud of him. He is helping us shape our movement for silver rights change and empowerment here in our Atlanta market. Join me and us in celebrating our friend and colleague Jay Bailey.

Watch Jay Bailey live RIGHT NOW, on the White House website!  

White House Highlights James Bailey as a “Champion of Change” For Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..

I Believe in our Youth so Much, I am Backing Them in Business!

In early 2012, Operation HOPE (HOPE) will unveil its HOPE Office of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (HOSBE), operating from the Office of the Chairman.

On the eve of HOPE’s 20-year anniversary, the HOSBE will connect the 19-year plus track record of HOPE’s ‘input’ power (youth and adults accessing and utilizing HOPE’s battery of financial dignity programs and initiatives) with HOPE’s mostly untapped and transformational ‘output’ power. 

The goal internally at HOPE is to finally translate the well-known qualitative ‘good works’ of HOPE into undeniable quantitative impact; as measured by the HOPE Office of Innovation, Research & Assessment (HOIRA), and the Gallup-HOPE Index.

The goal externally is nothing less than 21^st century transformational change at the level of the local under-served community eco-system. To create a new culture of self-empowerment and entrepreneurial spirit at the level of community, and a new culture of self-generated job creation amongst our youth.

A new ‘silver rights’ culture for youth financial literacy and economic energy in America fired by the Gallup-HOPE Index Cities Initiative. We intend to be the absolute global authority on youth hope, youth economic energy and youth financial literacy, period.  That work starts here, now.

HOPE Business-In-A-Box 

Inspired By President' Obama's Call for Youth Jobs Now, Operation HOPE Announces Special Youth Opportunity Commitment tied to Gallup-HOPE Index Cities Initiative

Inspired by President Barack Obama's call to leading private sector and community-based organizations to act now, helping to create youth business internships, jobs and opportunity, Operation HOPE stepped forward and made a unique commitment to actually operationalize the Gallup-HOPE Index Cities Initiative, which is built around our recently launched Gallup-HOPE Index National Poll.  

Operation HOPE was honored to step forward, and to develop something that can show real results in real communities.  Here is how it works. 

On October 13th, 2011, Gallup and Operation HOPE (HOPE) released a first-ever national data poll around youth financial literacy and youth economic energy in America.  Complete summary national Index data findings can be found at http://www.gallup.com/poll/150077/students-entrepreneurial-energy-waiting-tapped.aspx.

"The short-term goal is youth jobs, but the long-term goal #1, in every major urban city, is moving cities from 77/5, to 77/20." 

The national poll had a 3% margin of error and covered the Q34 breakthrough questions, as designed by Gallup social scientists.  All of the results were both telling and compelling, and further confirmed both Gallup and HOPE's fundamental belief that aspirations, hope and opportunity, and focusing on youth's 'strengths,' rather than their weaknesses, is the key to get young people to both enroll and to become real stakeholders in their own future success. 

77/5

One of the most compelling data stat groups that seemed to jump out and distinguish itself from the national raw data, was youth responses to two critical questions:

1. 77% of all youth report that they want to be their own boss.
2. 5% of all youth report that they currently have a business internship or business mentor.

Video Summary From the Gallup-HOPE Index Forum, Washington, D.C.

 

A special thank you to Jon Carson, Derek Douglas and Heather Foster (and behind the scenes, Michael Strautmanis) from the White House, Joshua Wright from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Roy Spence, chairman & CEO of GSD&M Idea City, Jim Clifton, chairman & CEO of Gallup, Jennifer Thibeaux from the Operation HOPE Office of Innovation, Research & Assessment, young "AJ," and a host of others for making this day truly special.

A special thank you to the sponsors of the Gallup-HOPE Index, including MetaPay, E Trade Financial, Bank of the West and MasterCard, amongst others.

 

 

 

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to Announce Forum of Global Shapers, Atlanta Hub tomorrow evening, Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Ketchum Family Commits $20,000 to Fuel New Gallup-HOPE Index Local Study

Personal contribution by Rick and Mary Beth Ketchum paves way for other individual donors

DALLAS--Rick and Mary Beth Ketchum’s $20,000 contribution to Operation HOPE, the leader in economic empowerment and financial dignity, will help fuel a study with global research-based consultancy, Gallup, Inc that will gauge the entrepreneurial aspirations and energy that could help drive future job creation in America and is based on the Banking on Our Future curriculum.

The Ketchum contribution will focus on students in the Dallas Independent School system and support HOPE’s Office of Innovation, Research and Assessment.
 
“We will never succeed in addressing our equity or global competitiveness challenges until we provide our youth of all economic backgrounds with the knowledge, tools and will to succeed,” shared Mr. Ketchum.

Read the complete story here.

 

 

Operation HOPE Promises Made, Promises Kept to Spur Local Urban Entrepreneur

I am pleased to report that Operation HOPE, Atlanta has successfully funded the $10,000 grant commitment made on behalf of local Atlanta urban entrepreneur Ms. Kwanza Fisher, pictured above.  HOPE funded this with and as part of the 100 Urban Entrepreneurs organization, which manages the commitments and inspiring "pitch" programs.

ORIGINAL STORY REPRINT:

Thanks to the leadership of the White House Business Council, White House Office of Public Engagement, White House Urban Policy, and Mayor Kasim Reed and the City of Atlanta, Operation HOPE and I were honored to participate in the White House Urban Entrepreneurship Forum, Atlanta, held on Friday, July 29th, 2011, in the City of Atlanta (Operation HOPE is a national partner in the series).

Gallup-HOPE Index Support Builds as Bank of the West, E*TRADE, Meta Payment Systems and MasterCard Commit Additional Capital

Gallup-HOPE Index's matching partner commitments of $500K lay foundation for the dissemination of a national survey that will define the criteria to empower American youth

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nonprofit Operation HOPE (HOPE), a global leader in financial dignity, today announced increased 2011 support for the Gallup HOPE Index, a national survey measuring financial literacy and the economic energy of U.S. students, acknowledging $500K in additional contributions from Bank of the West, E*TRADE, Meta Payment Systems and MasterCard for the long-term project. The announcement comes on the morning of the inaugural Gallup HOPE Index Forum, held at Gallup's World Headquarters.

Initial seed capital for the Index included a $150K (multi-year) commitment from CoreLogic and a $100K commitment from Meta Payment Systems.  The additional commitments of $150K from Bank of The West, $125K from E*TRADE, $100K from MasterCard, $130K from Meta Payment Systems will be capital invested in the ongoing work of disseminating the Gallup-HOPE Index on a national basis. To ensure the survey's sustaining power, Gallup is investing $5M to audit and measure U.S. school students for the Gallup-HOPE Index, as its gift to American schools.