Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothea Bernique. They and their team shared their story with us below:
While working as an insurance agent and investment advisor in the Charleston Metro area, Dorothea Bernique was concerned; At the same time, her clients had steady jobs; many had never learned the fundamentals of good money management. Numerous families lived paycheck to paycheck without any savings or retirement plans. Dorothea desired to help those with modest incomes find ways to stabilize their finances to eventually build a legacy for their children. A woman of faith, Dorothea felt God had given her an acronym to define her career’s mission: H.O.P.E, which stands for Helping Others Prosper Economically. Her clients needed hope that their lives and their children’s futures could improve.
“I thought, as an insurance agent, that was how I was supposed to do it,” Dorothea says. “We can have an idea, but God’s idea often differs.”
One day in 2003, Dorothea’s mission changed after meeting with a new client. “This young lady leaned across my desk and whispered, ‘Miss Dorothea, what’s an investment?’” she recalls. “It was after that day that I knew another level of help was needed. People needed basic financial knowledge.” As a licensed advisor in insurance, mortgages, and investments, Dorothea knew the ropes of personal finance. Her work with clients had started the wheels turning in her head. Dorothea daydreamed about creating a one-stop shop where ordinary people could learn how to balance their checkbooks, save for retirement, fill out tax returns, clean up their credit scores, and navigate the process of buying a home. She tucked away the idea as a future aspiration. But the young woman’s confusion provoked Dorothea to reflect further. Dorothea felt a nudging in her heart. She recognized the Holy Spirit at work and knew she was receiving a call to action. Before long, Dorothea had left her promising career at RCB Bank. She began working from her kitchen table, planting the seeds that would grow into the Increasing H.O.P.E Financial Training Center. (The agency received its 501(c)(3) status in 2005.).
“The ability to budget, maintain a good credit score, create an emergency fund, and develop a healthy attitude toward money are personal money management basics; they are the cornerstones we teach to begin creating financial freedom,” Dorothea says. “Our overall mission is to help families and individuals become skilled in this area – by teaching them to manage their income, reduce debt, and build a legacy for their family, beginning with the basics and advancing toward financial freedom.”
Increasing H.O.P.E has trained thousands in financial literacy and collaborated with community businesses, area schools, and other non-profits such as My Sister’s House, the YWCA, and The Center for Women. Recently, its services have expanded to include a small business incubator for female-owned enterprises and an accelerated pilot program for minority entrepreneurs poised to take their businesses to the next level. Increasing H.O.P.E has come a long way from Dorothea’s kitchen table. After 18 years, the financial training center has grown to employ thirteen staff members. In December 2021, Increasing H.O.P.E moved into its forever home, a newly refurbished office building in North Charleston. Increasing H.O.P.E co-owns the building, The Opportunity Center, in partnership with three other non-profits who serve a similar clientele.
Can you tell us about the challenges and lessons you have learned? Looking back, would you say it has been easy or smooth?
It has not been a smooth road; however, the lessons learned have been invaluable as a non-profit organization, funding has been a struggle. Counting on grants and donations to run your organization is an ongoing struggle. The loss of grants, the delayed receipt of grant monies, and the agency not being able to hire a fund development staff person have been a challenge. I still write many of our grants, and we need people comfortable with fundraising on our team. As a person of faith, I have had to stand on the fact that God is my source because I recognize that the grants and donations are the resources He uses to provide for our work.
Great, so let us get down to business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The mission of the Increasing H.O.P.E Financial Training Center is to create financial freedom and stability for families in South Carolina by building assets through financial education and training. Increasing H.O.P.E (Helping Others Prosper Economically) operates as a one-stop educational resource, providing integrated services to help families, individuals, and entrepreneurs achieve financial stability and build assets. North Charleston-based Increasing H.O.P.E. is helping families of modest income reverse the cycle of debt, build wealth through investing and home ownership, and start successful businesses through a series of programs that address the mechanics of saving and investing and the psychological transformation required. Founded and led by a financial executive with a heart for service to others, Increasing H.O.P.E. offers a guide to climbing the ladder of success, even on a modest income. We are known for giving people hope around their finances. We do not judge others, and collaboration is key. Our customer care and attention to customer service set us apart from others. Our services include financial education, credit rebuilding, homeownership housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, free tax preparation, volunteerism, and entrepreneurship training for small business owners. Our goal is to deliver hope, empowerment, and restoration of excellence to those we serve. Our clients are our greatest asset.
What do you think about happiness?
Getting up every day knowing that I am walking out my God-given purpose and reason for being on this earth makes me happy. This makes me happy because I know it makes my creator happy. I have chosen to embrace who He created me to be with confidence and assurance that he has thoroughly equipped me for the work of my hands, which makes Him happy. There are more dreams in the graveyards that are being lived out daily. I am happy because the giver of my dream is happy. Helping others embrace and live their dream also makes me happy. I get to live in my sweet spot and feel His pleasure!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.increasinghope.org www.ihopewbc.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/increasinghope
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorotheabernique/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourmoneycounts/videos
Image Credits
Personal Image Credits: Léa Barnay-Riviere Léa’s Portraits & Not Your Office Headshot Charleston
