A bilingual workforce-readiness and financial-literacy platform built for adult learners. Sixteen interactive modules — all bilingual English/Spanish — that help adult learners understand a paycheck, build a budget, avoid predatory loans, build credit, find jobs, write resumes, claim federal benefits and tax credits, navigate the benefits cliff, open bank accounts, plan for big decisions, and reach savings goals. Special editions for parents, veterans, and returning citizens. Available as a white-label license to institutions, or sponsor-funded for participants. Deploys in 30 days.
Sixty-two percent of working-age Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Twenty-two million adults hold a GED instead of a high-school diploma. Twenty-three million live in households without a single bank account. Six million people leave the U.S. carceral system each year. The institutions that serve these adults — workforce boards, community colleges, nonprofits, adult-ed programs — are well-funded. What they lack is a modern, demonstrably useful tool to put in front of the learner.
The cost of this gap is concrete. A working family that misses one EITC filing, pays check-cashing fees instead of using a free credit-union account, takes one payday loan instead of negotiating a payment plan, and unknowingly accepts a “raise” that triggers benefit loss can lose $5,000 to $10,000 in a single year. None of those decisions look obvious in the moment. Each is preventable with information delivered at the moment of decision.
Every module is built for adult learners with limited formal education or non-traditional employment histories — not retrofitted from a high-school product. Every dollar amount, percentage, and program rule is sourced from authoritative references and updated annually as the IRS and HHS revise them.
RISE is configured differently for each buyer through six built-in presets — Workforce Board, Adult Ed, Community College, Reentry, Latino Community, and Veterans. With the same software, the right modules surfaced for each program type.
| Market | Why they buy | Funding source |
|---|---|---|
| Workforce Development Boards | WIOA performance metrics are tied to earnings gains, credential attainment, and retention. Benefits-cliff calculator improves case-management decisions. | WIOA Title I, REO grants, state allocations |
| Adult Education / GED Programs | WIOA Title II metrics include "transitions to employment" and "transitions to postsecondary." Removes curriculum-development burden. | AEFLA, IELCE, state adult-ed funds |
| Community Colleges | Persistence and completion are pressured by financial stress. RISE addresses the stress directly. Title III/V grants fund the procurement. | Title III, Title V, Perkins V, college operating funds |
| Reentry Programs | Recidivism reduction is the central performance metric. Financial stability is the strongest predictor of non-recidivism. | Second Chance Act, REO formula, BJA grants, state corrections |
| Community Nonprofits | Outcomes per dollar matter to funders. Engagement data and dollar-impact estimates plug directly into reporting. | Foundation grants, CSBG, United Way, corporate giving |
| Financial Institutions | Sponsor deployments at LMI-serving partners. CRA credit, brand reach, pipeline into LMI consumer banking. | CRA budget, community-development giving, marketing |
Most of the funding sources above are recurring annually, not one-time grants. A single-program adult-ed pilot moves to a multi-program system deployment. A workforce-board pilot in one city moves to a state-level rollout. RISE is built to scale that way — same product, expanding reach.
The Community Reinvestment Act requires depository institutions to demonstrate service to low- and moderate-income communities. Most banks already spend $1–3M annually on community-development activities. Sponsoring RISE deployments makes those dollars work harder — three ways at once.
| Tier | Bank profile | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Community bank, single-MSA credit union, regional CDFI | One regional deployment, 1,500–3,000 LMI adults/year |
| Regional | Multi-state community bank, mid-tier regional | 2–5 states, 8,000–20,000 LMI adults/year |
| National | Top 25 U.S. bank, national CU network, large CDFI fund | National network, 50,000+ LMI adults/year |
RISE is a single-file web application. No installation, no app store, no learner account required. Three deployment modes: hosted URL on a partner subdomain, embedded iframe inside a partner portal, or branded offline file for limited-connectivity settings.
We respond to procurement inquiries within one business day, and sponsor inquiries within four hours during business hours.
Every career. Every school. Every dollar of available aid. Career exploration, financial literacy, and real-world budgeting — available through the parents, schools, and organizations that champion students.