Our goal

We’re on a mission to deliver the first debt-free generation.

What we do

Credit Do is a non-profit dedicated to making financial independence a reality for all. We create unique opportunities for purchasing food, clothes, school supplies, and other essential goods in exchange for doing social good.
Think of them as Smarter Barters™.

By leading relief efforts that meet their community's specific needs, participants earn credit to local businesses and cash contributions that jumpstart their savings accounts.

Get Involved

Freedom from debt is the freedom to

3 steps to leading a debt-free life:

Learn

We partner with financial literacy organizations to teach the fundamentals of managing money.

Work

We empower people of all ages with opportunities to work for what they need.

Save

We provide individuals with savings accounts for continuing their financial growth.

Why Learn, Work, Save?

Learn Infographic

High school students who take a personal finance course before graduating achieve, on average, higher savings rates and net worth.

Source: Credit.com

Work Infographic

Early work experiences build self-confidence, reward time management skills, and help demonstrate what it's like to make a living.

Source: Australian Journal of Career Development

Save Infographic

A student with a savings account is 4 times more likely to go to college — 6 times more likely if the account is in their name.

Source: The 1:1 Fund

Saving takes work.
30% of antsy toddlers agree.

We all know that saving is the smart thing to do, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

For example: would you rather eat one marshmallow now, or have two in ten minutes?

Of the kids who took part in the original Marshmallow Tests, only 30% were able to stop themselves from springing for the marshmallow. Their resilience proved to be a strong predictor of success: the same 30% tended to earn higher grades, incomes, and savings rates later in life.

A majority of Americans don’t have a savings plan, and more than half live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Buying a car...

At 13, Paloma decides to deposit $25 into a savings account at the end of every week.

At 13, Paloma lacks the opportunity to start saving up.

At 23, she buys a $13K car for getting to and from her new job. Paloma's salary allows her to increase her savings to $400 per month.

At 26, she's gained another $14K in savings at 2% annual interest.

At 23, she takes out a $13K auto loan from the bank to buy a car.* They collect $400, plus fees, from Paloma every month for 3 years.

At 26, she’s finally debt-free.


*Calculated for the average 36-month auto loan at 5% annual interest.

Over it.

Our programs are designed to help people of all ages earn their financial independence.

Here’s how they work:

Learn

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

Work on a Credit Do project and earn a minimum of $10 an hour in credit to a local business. In each project, participants:

1

Lead a work service project organized by Credit Do to help those in need.

Our food drives currently benefit City Harvest food shelters, with more partnerships underway.

We customize every project to meet a neighborhood’s most pressing needs.

Our Smarter Barters
2

Earn a minimum of $10 an hour in credit toward purchasing life essentials.

Buy food, clothes, school supplies, and other goods from local businesses that sponsor your Credit Do project.

3

Flex their newfound skills to make the most of what they earn.

Compete in teams for extra credit — meaning more credit toward purchases — by creating budgets that stretch your team’s combined credit the farthest.

Save

For every dollar in credit you earn, save another toward your future education.

With a donation 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.

Our Impact

good. Earn greatness.

Win-Win-Win

Smarter Barters allow our participants to work for what they need while meeting the needs of their community.

Food Drive

Our classic Smarter Barter. Students run a food drive hosted by their local supermarket, which matches their hard work with credit towards groceries, clothes, and school supplies. This exchange benefits everyone: supermarkets support the same families that have always supported them, while food shelters receive hundreds of meals for those in need.

Building Homes

Participants build affordable homes for New York families by joining forces with a housing nonprofit. In return, they earn credit toward home improvement supplies from Credit Do’s retail partners, plus matched contributions to their savings accounts.

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.

Current Members Our Impact

Dare to

Our pilot programs in New York City offer only a glimpse of what the next generation can accomplish.

New York City’s public school system is the largest in America, where 2 out of every 3 of its 1.1 million students are enrolled in the lunch assistance program. We couldn’t think of a better proving ground for the change Credit Do can bring.

Our progress to date

In just 4 projects, 141 amazing students from the Cornelia Connelly Center and the University Neighborhood Middle School have...

...and we're just getting started.

The Smarter Barter in action

Our students have set in motion something radically new: a cycle of reciprocal giving that benefits everyone.

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.

See us in action Get involved

Now is the time to

Get Involved

Defy debt by taking action.

Spread the word

Share our story with your friends.

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Current Projects

View our current projects and learn about upcoming events.

Crowdrise

Start a Project

for Students, ages 9-99

Build a team of your friends to bring a Credit Do project to your community.

for Schools & Non-Profits

Are you an organization in need of some helping hands? Find out how Smarter Barters can work for you.

for Businesses

Are you actively engaged in supporting your community? Join the Needs-Matching Network and learn more about hosting a Smarter Barter at your business.

Find out how
Tell us a little about yourself, and we’ll get you started.
Student
School/Non-profit
Business
Other
Start a project
Join a project
Other

Join Us

Become a member

With your resources and our workforce combined, we’re expanding economic opportunity like never before.

Join now Current Members

Join our team

Live in NYC? From assisting our on-the-ground efforts to pitching in at Credit Do HQ, there’s always a way to help out.

Apply for a job Volunteer
Tell us a little about yourself, and we’ll get you started.
Student
School
Business
Other
Become a member
Volunteer
Apply for job

Meet the ers.

Founder, CEO

Chris Avila Hübschmann

Raised by a long line of hard-working Texans, Chris worked her way through school while attending New York University. Today, she directs her 16 years of leadership experience in television, fashion, and publishing towards a new goal: providing individuals with greater access to financial literacy and opportunities to work and save.

At the start of her freshman year, Chris bought her very first credit card from a salesperson outside her campus bookstore, where she spent $300 in credit on textbooks. Weeks later, she made a shocking discovery. According to her credit provider, Chris had unwittingly amassed over 7 years of bad, unusable credit.

This experience, followed by years of learning from passionate, hard-working employers and a growing appreciation for her work opportunities, inspired Chris to take action. She thought: what if our credit score was representative of what we do—in other words, what we’ve earned—and based on our merit? After researching pro-social initiatives, she discovered Muhummad Yunus’ pioneering microloan program, which resonated deeply with her vision for a work-service initiative that provides access to financial education and credit in exchange for social productivity.

Credit Do launched its first Smarter Barter in the fall of 2010, rooted in the belief that credit is not only a measure of someone’s financial worth, but more importantly, their positive contributions to the community at large.

Board of Directors

Anne C. Beagan

Anne has been employed as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the past 16 1/2 years. She served as the Special Events Coordinator for 9 years before moving into her current position in the Office of Public Affairs. A graduate of George Mason University, Anne holds a BA in International Relations and Government and Politics.

Halle Darmstadt

Secretary

Halle is the Communications Manager at EffectiveBrands. Before joining EffectiveBrands in 2006, she was the business manager for 10 years at a number of architectural and interior design firms in New York City. A graduate of Syracuse University, Halle holds a BS in Art History.

Elizabeth Negrotto-Sapnar

Elizabeth Negrotto-Sapnar was born, raised and schooled in Louisiana before moving to Italy and then New York. She has a 20-year professional background at the management level in the special events and hospitality industry, for the last 13 years with Keith McNally’s - Smithfield Associates Pastis restaurant.

Cristy Travaglino

Treasurer

Cristy is a Vice President in the Credit Risk Management and Advisory department at Goldman Sachs. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Neighborhood Trust FCU, and for 5 years served as Board Chair for the organization. Previously, Cristy was an operational efficiency Consultant at Accenture. She holds a BS in Computer Information Systems from Clemson University and an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Social Enterprise and Finance.

Advisory Board

Jayme Rubright

Corp. & Strategic Relations Director,
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

Eddie Stern

Director,
Ashtanga Yoga New York

Doug Young

Education Director,
Council for Economic Education

Needs-Matching Network

Join our Network

Local Businesses

Meet the community of like-minded businesses that support us at every step, from rewarding our participants with credit to jumpstarting their financial growth with savings accounts.

Partners

Like any startup company, Credit Do relies on the exceptional generosity of people who believe in our business model and recognize our impact. We're deeply grateful to the organizations whose dollars, goods, and services have made our work possible.

Friends