John Hope Bryant

ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE: Ebenezer helps bring back a business ministry and mission to historic Auburn Avenue

By Maria Saporta

The inscription couldn’t be more appropriate.

On the tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., the message is: “I LOVE EVERYONE. STILL IN BUSINESS. JUST MOVED UPSTAIRS.

The legacy of “Daddy King” — as he was known to close friends and family — will live on through the M.L. King Sr. Community Resource Complex, which is under construction next to Ebenezer Baptist Church. King Sr. was a pastor at Ebenezer — a role he shared with his son — Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

On Sunday afternoon, Ebenezer held a program spotlighting the “business” side of Daddy King — someone who combined his religious teachings with economic lessons of self-sufficiency.

His daughter, Christine King Farris, said Daddy King had a mind for business.

“He knew how to handle his funds,” Farris said. “That’s how he got on the board of directors of Citizens Trust Bank. I almost followed him. I worked at Citizens Trust, and I majored in economics.”

King Sr. joined the board of Citizens Trust in the 1950s, where he served for several decades.

“Daddy King struggled with whether he wanted to be a businessman or a preacher,” said John Hope Bryant at the Ebenezer program on Sunday. “He did both.”

Read the complete story here.

 

 

Announcing at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta, Georgia: From Civil Rights to Silver Rights, A Conversation on Leadership

This coming Sunday, February 12th, 2012, at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church led by my friend and partner, Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock, I will join both civil rights icon Ambassador Andrew Young and Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, the 5th pastor of America's freedom church in its more than 125 year history, for a special CONVERSATION ON LEADERSHIP: From Civil Rights to Silver Rights, and the new Civil Roghts Issue of Financial Dignity.

Operation HOPE is partnering with Ebenezer Baptist Church to build the HOPE Financial Dignity, Ebenezer, which will be the anchor tenant and partner in the new Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Resource Complex at Ebenezer, and within the broader King Center complex.  The HOPE Financial Dignity Center, Ebenezer is supported by the FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE and its members SunTrust Bank, State Farm Insurance, LPL Financial, Wells Fargo and MasterCard, as well as the US Economic Development Administration, the Coca-Cola Company and the United Way of Greater Atlanta.

Hosted by the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church but not limited to members of Ebenezer, if you are a leader in the greater Atlanta area, you can contact Operation HOPE, Atlanta to RSVP at 404-941-2919, or to get additional information.

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. 

 

HOPE Financial Dignity Center, Ebenezer on the Move in Atlanta

The Work of Operation HOPE for 2011

 

A special thank you to my best friend and Operation HOPE strategic advisor, Rod McGrew, for lending his voiceover skills (pro-bono of course) for this inspiring video, which was shown at the 2011 Operation HOPE Board Retreat.

Okay, let's go...

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and a Member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. 

 

SPECIAL FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST: On Leadership: Why Financial Dignity is the New Movement for Financial Literacy

 

 

John HopeBryant

Bestselling business leadership author and philanthropic entrepreneur

I am a supporter of financial literacy. I am a constructive critic of financial literacy. Both are legitimate and essential in an honestdialogue. As HOPE Global Spokesman Ambassador Andrew Young said, "John, be skeptical, but don't be cynical. To be cynical is to be without hope."

Operation HOPE pioneered financial literacy as policy within the U.S. federal government in 2008, when we inspired then President George W. Bush to sign an Executive Order establishing financial literacy as new federal government policy, and with it the creation of the first ever U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. I was honored to serve as vice chairman for this first council, with Charles Schwab as chairman, and to serve as chairman of the Council Committee on the Under Served.

President Barack Obama took this vision to another level; bringing to life his own Executive Order during his Presidency, and thereafter establishing the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability (on which I am proud to serve), and then the Federal Consumer Protection Bureau.

President Obama named smart people to head both, with Ariel Capital Management's extremely smart founder John Rogers chairing the Council, and my friend Professor Elizabeth Warren spearheading the foundation of and for the Bureau. I recall one conversation in particular with Professor Warren, where I asked her what she would think if I said, "financial literacy was the new civil rights issue?" Not only did she agree with me, but she went on to say that she thought that "done right," while regulatory review and policy making might consume the formative years of the Bureau, its legacy should be a new foundation of financial literacy in America. Professor Warren and I agree 100%.

Read the complete article here on the Huffington Post.

 

 

 

Operation HOPE and the Ebenezer Family Honors HOPE Financial Dignity Center at Ebenezer Partners

 

I was honored to join the Operation HOPE, Atlanta and the Ebenezer Church family as we recognized and honored some of the partners for the HOPE Financial Dignity Center at Ebenezer, which will be the anchor tenant of and for the under-construction Martin Luther King, Sr. Community Complex, situated within the larger King Center complex.

Saluting and acting on the Operation HOPE-FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE Framework Agreement signed in 2009 at the HOPE Global Financial Literacy Summit, HOPE Partners present on Sunday included Steve Bartlett, CEO of the FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE, Esther Stearns, president of LPL Financial (and a member of the national board for Operation HOPE), Candy Moore, senior vice president for Wells Fargo, and Shawn Miles, group head, global public policy and regulatory strategy counsel, law and franchise integrity, MasterCard. Other partners not present included State Farm Insurance, SunTrust Bank, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Coca-Cola and the United Way of Greater Atlanta.

Young Global Leaders, Nobel Laureates Join Over 100,000 Students and Volunteers to Celebrate Global Dignity Day

Festivities commence with first Global Dignity Day Forum in Finland on October 19, 2011

HELSINKI/LOS ANGELES – The Global Dignity (GD) co-founders, and Young Global Leader alumni, HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Professor Pekka Himanen; and Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant today initiated the Fourth Annual Global Dignity Day celebrations with the inaugural Global Dignity Day Forum in Helsinki, Finland.

Activities included the global launch of the new Global Dignity website, the world premiere of “Dignity” a new song written and composed by evolutionary musician Dave Stewart and performed by up-and-coming lyrical hip-hop artist Nadirah X.

Event host Himanen, a philosopher and Global Dignity co-founder, noted that “The Global Dignity Day Forum is an excellent opportunity for participants to exchange ideas and thoughts about the importance of dignity and tolerance.”

“Everyone can agree on dignity, but it is still important to sit down and discuss how our interconnectedness can help us build a better world through Dignity,” HOPE Founder and business bestselling author John Bryant said.

Christine King-Farris and the State Farm Family at Ebenezer

Professor Christine King-Farris, sister of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, stands with the State Farm Insurance family following service at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. State Farm Insurance has made a $1 million commitment to the HOPE Financial Literacy Empowerment Center at Ebenezer.

Also present here is the man who brought us all together -- Mr. Steve Bartlett, CEO, Financial Services Roundtable.

Okay, let's go.

John Hope Bryant is founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and bestselling author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass).

- Posted from my iPhone

Introducing the Gallup-HOPE Index, Featuring Jim Clifton and John Hope Bryant

Gallup-HOPE Index - John Hope Bryant and Jim Clifton from operationhopedotorg on Vimeo.

The first Gallup-HOPE Index Forum will be held at the Gallup Building in Washington, D.C., on October 13th, 2011, where the first results of the national poll will be shared publicly, for the first time.  For more information on the Forum, or the Index itself, contact Jennifer Thibeaux, director of the HOPE Office of Innovation, Research & Assessment.  

See you there, or you can watch the Forum online!

Together, we can change the world.

 

 

 

SPECIAL FROM SOUTH AFRICA: Sanlam Aims to Free 'Economic Slaves'

VICTORIA JOHN - Sep 08 2011

Financial literacy is a civil rights issue, said John Bryant, chief executive officer of the NGO Operation Hope, at the launch of Sanlam's multimillion-rand corporate social investment foundation on Wednesday.

For the new Sanlam Foundation, such literacy is central to tackling poverty in South Africa. Equipping the youth to manage not only their finances but also their health and their environment lies at the heart of the foundation's mission.

"If you don't understand the universal language of money and you don't have a bank account, you're an economic slave," Bryant said.

The Sanlam Foundation's partners include Bryant's Operation Hope -- a volunteer-based organisation in the United States -- and the WWF (World Wide Fund) Sanlam Living Waters campaign, an initiative to protect South Africa's water.

The Regency Foundation, a development agency that liaises between the United Nations and business, and the KwaZulu-Natal department of education are also partners in the foundation.

Read the complete story in the South African Mail & Guardian here.


John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc., author of Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.