DO+ in Action
Learn
Students receive 7–10 hours of financial education in their math class and learn how to make a basic budget, balance spending with saving, and prepare for some of life’s biggest financial decisions — including the smaller ones that add up quickly.
By teaming up with the Council for Economic Education, we’re bringing financial literacy programs to classrooms across New York City.
Work
In exchange for 1 day of community service, students earn a minimum of $10 an hour in store credit to a local business their families frequent.
Lead a work-service project organized by Credit Do to help those in need.
Support City Harvest food shelters through our food drives, with more partnerships underway.
Participate in projects customized to meet a neighborhood’s most pressing needs.
Students earn a minimum of $10 an hour in store credit toward purchasing life essentials.
They can buy food, clothes, school supplies, and other goods from local businesses that sponsor their Credit Do project.
Students also flex their newfound skills to make the most of what they earn.
They compete in teams for extra store credit by creating budgets that stretch their combined credit the farthest.
Save
For every dollar in store credit students earn, they also save toward their future education.
Thanks to donations from businesses in Credit Do’s Needs-Matching Network, every participant receives a minimum $50 deposit into their personal or educational savings account. If they don’t have one already, we partner with financial institutions to open an account in their name.
Why DO+
An We're Just
Getting Started
Credit Do has executed 12 Smarter Barters. 328 students have each received 7–10 hours of financial education lessons. Students have conducted 5 work service hours, including one NYC public middle school pilot. 252 have established deposit-only educational savings accounts.
On average, one student collects 82 lbs. of food valued at $164, equal to 60 meals rescued for their local food pantry.
During one 5-hour food drive, 301 students across 7 participating grocery stores collected:
- 23,563 lbs. of food (over 11 tons)
- 15,300 meals rescued for food banks
- $45,769 in food contributions and extra business generated for local merchants
- $15,050 earned in store credit
- $13,030 received and self-contributed into savings
Smarter Barter™
The Smarter Barter™
in Action
Our students have set in motion something radically new:
A cycle of reciprocal giving that benefits everyone.
It all adds up.
Needs-Matching Network™
After Credit Do identifies a community need, we mobilize the organizations in our network that are uniquely qualified to help.
“Together, we’ve delivered thousands of meals to food shelters, supported local businesses, and given students new opportunities to provide for themselves by providing for others.”
Don’t shrink from a challenge.
Grow from it.
The impact of our pilot programs has been impressive — but so is the amount of work still to be done. Help us bring Credit Do to communities across New York and around the country.