Sports is never very forgiving on the field, we like our wins to be decisive. However can a new concept tied to forgiving loans use sports as a potential pathway to success?
ForgiveCo is a new public benefit corporation that aims to help brands do good by forgiving the debt of necessity for individuals in hardship. How does it work? Brands partner with ForgiveCo to target communities of people in need and purchase their debt in bundles using the same process debt collectors use – buying debt at cents on the dollar. Rather than collecting on the obligation, they forgive it, thus reducing financial hardship for people who need help the most. It is the newest venture from Craig Antico, who, has already overseen the cancellation of billions of dollars of debt for millions of individuals.
How does it tie to sports? Enter Bills quarterback Josh Allen. ForgiveCo, concentrated their initial forgiveness efforts in Allen’s home state of California, college state of Wyoming, and professional home in Buffalo. Also targeted for debt relief were individuals within 200 zip codes where Buffalo sports fans are shown to be concentrated in fan chapters across the country. It translated into an average of $3,847 relieved for 2,600 people. Those benefiting from debt relief received a branded letter from ForgiveCo and Allen. Letters are expected to arrive in mailboxes by the end of the year.
How has the business played out after kickoff (pun intended). We asked Craig, who was a financial industry leader in collections, debt buying and outsourcing for 30-years, and his son Erik, a veteran sports and sales marketer who has worked at IMG, WME, Endeavor and LEARFIELD, to put it all together for us
WHICH TYPE OF BRANDS ARE BEST FITS, AND HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK SO THAT A WIN IS SEEN IN THEIR ROI?
CRAIG ANTICO: Brands of all types and all budgets can benefit (B2C, B2B, Celebrities/Influencers, NPO, and GOVT entities). The brands that benefit most want a deeper connection to the consumers, fans and communities they serve. If you have an existing brand platform focused on community or cause, we can feed into that. When consumers get a miracle in the mail that says, “your debt is lifted courtesy of “X” company,” they’ll never forget that brand experience. It’s powerful, shareable, and lasting, which is what marketers seek to find and deliver – and that’s why they call us. Debt forgiveness promotes goodwill with the public. And because we buy debt by the bundle and at a fraction of its total owed amount, brands see a huge multiplier effect on their spend.
ERIK ANTICO: Debt forgiveness is a mechanism to lift a burden off the people and communities that a company cares about. We can target by geographic areas, demographics that align with their ideal customers, and groups of people they care about (E.g., Veterans). Take this upcoming Memorial Day for example – we can work with a company to forgive debt for veterans, military members, and their families to amplify the brands existing military appreciation cause strategy. Or it can be used to solve a B2B goal, such as supporting supply chain partners. Perhaps a fast-food brand wants to support the farmers that source their beef; we could isolate debt relief in farming regions.
TELL US THE STORY OF HOW THIS CAME ABOUT, AND SOME OF THE STORIES WHICH HAVE CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION?
CRAIG ANTICO: I founded a non-profit that forgave billions of dollars of medical debt for millions of people, but we were hamstrung. That model helped the poor, not the middle class, average Americans, and blue-collar workers, and we wanted to benefit those in addition to the impoverished. This non-profit organization had a singular purpose, to abolish debt, and no commercial purpose was allowed. I sought a dual-purpose structure to provide a brand with a direct marketing moment with the consumer and simultaneously help them get out of debt. Our status as a Public Benefit Company is best suited for greater social impact and a new innovative marketing channel.
We also want to add that ForgiveCo exists to serve the public good and to support brands in their cause/marketing efforts. We don’t need the credit; this programming is about them and what they can do to engage their communities and build their brand simultaneously. We want their brand front and center when we work on a partnership.
EXPLAIN THE WORK WITH JOSH ALLEN…HOW DID IT COME ABOUT AND HOW HAS IT WORKED OUT?
CRAIG ANTICO: Josh Allen is the ideal partner for our inaugural $10M in debt forgiveness through our ForgiveCo community marketing platform. We went to Allen’s team on how we could benefit the work that is important to him – serving the communities where he grew up (Central Valley, CA), played college ball (Wyoming), and plays pro ball. For the latter, we targeted Buffalo fans across the country by identifying the zip codes in which their supporters are most prominent. It’s worked out great because Josh wiped out $10 million of debt for his hardworking supporters in those areas. We hope this is a spark plug for other brands to get involved.
WE HAVE SEEN CSR GROW IN SPORTS, HOW DOES A PROGRAM LIKE THIS TIE INTO PROGRAMS TEAMS SHOULD OR COULD BE DOING?
ERIK ANTICO: Great question. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for brands to lead with purpose and align with programs that bring their core values to life. Sports properties (Teams, Leagues, and Agencies) and ForgiveCo are natural fits to deliver more effective and enhanced community programming to their sponsorship mix. Adding ForgiveCo as an ingredient to corporate partnership programs can aid in retaining and upselling clients while also providing a new element to tap into locked categories that can drive additional revenue. Additionally, sports teams or leagues can partner through their community engagement departments to amplify their existing cause strategies and build stronger community relations. Since we are a public benefit corporation and not a non-profit, we can help more people and generate more vital awareness for the partnerships we create.
FINANCIAL LITERACY WAS ONE OF THE HOT TOPICS OF 2022. HOW CAN A PROGRAM LIKE THIS CONNECT WITH EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT INDIVIDUALS OR TEAMS OR BRANDS MAY HAVE?
CRAIG ANTICO: Most of the debt our partners relieve is the debt of necessity, not luxuries – it is debt from healthcare, education, and shelter- paid for by borrowing. Unpayable debt can happen to anyone and is caused mainly by accident, illness, or job loss. The debt we forgive is owed mostly by financially insecure people that are the target of financial literacy programs.
Regarding financial literacy, the ForgiveCo program connects brands and the community through relief, an information channel, and awareness. It uses data and analytics to target people with financial instability within the communities brands care about and lets them relieve them of their burdensome debt. It can disseminate offers and information through mailing, email, and text. Broadly, the public learns about the programs offered, and awareness occurs through word-of-mouth and the media.
ERIK ANTICO: Any brand that cares about financial literacy is someone we want to speak with. Education can be a building block for people to get out of debt, and we can get information into the hands of the people brands care about and build a lasting connection for both parties. Plus, when we generate positive goodwill in the community, a strong PR moment occurs for that message to be heard by a wider audience.
DOWN THE ROAD, WHAT’S THE NEXT BEST STEP IN THE PROGRAM…HOW DOES IT GROW, EXPAND SCOPE AND BECOME EVEN MORE MAINSTREAMED USING SPORTS AS THE DRIVER?
ERIK ANTICO: Our first message to sports leaders is to give us a challenge – put it on us to figure out how debt relief may enhance an existing effort of yours. Reach out if you are intrigued by how your brand can get national and regional headlines through a targeted debt forgiveness effort like the Josh Allen partnership did. We don’t expect brand and sports business marketers to fully understand debt forgiveness and how it works, but we can handle that in an initial call. In that same call, tell us about your platform, purpose, or challenge, and we’ll design a way in which you can lift the communities or customers you serve.
CRAIG ANTICO: We aim to eliminate one hundred billion dollars of debt for over fifty million people by working with brand partners, but it’s not only about debt relief; it’s about solving problems that brands care about. There are no limits on how we can work with brands to build their brand equity while impacting targeted causes and communities they care about with our debt forgiveness platform.
Imagine the impact that could be created if a league teamed with us on a cause platform (e.g. NFL’s “Salute to Service” month). We could eliminate debt for tens of thousands of veterans and the credit would be shared with the league’s participating sponsors and clubs. That’s the type of effort that would be truly inspiring as the collective power of leagues, clubs, players, sponsors and league’s media partners would be able to tell so MANY stories on how debt occurs and the burden that can be lifted through debt forgiveness.
A social responsbility program that scores across the country…good one to start the year with.
