Dr. Bronner's and Mission Fed Credit Union Launch Income Advance Program in Southern California!

The Income Advance program continues to grow nationally, and our latest expansion is one we are especially proud of. For the first time, the Income Advance program is available to workers in  Southern California, thanks to two new partners: Dr. Bronner's and Mission Fed Credit Union.

Dr. Bronner's Learning and Development Manager, Jess Stewart, was searching for innovative benefits to support employees experiencing housing instability when she reached out to the Rhino Foods Foundation team to learn more about the  Income Advance Program. It didn't take long for the Dr. Bronner's team to be fully on board. The company’s leadership committed not only to designing the program for their own workforce but also acting as a regional champion so that more businesses in Southern California can offer it as a benefit to their employees.

The next step was finding the right lending partner. With no lenders in the Southern California market offering the Income Advance program or a comparable employer sponsored small dollar loan (ESSDL), the RFF team helped to identify a local credit union that is mission-aligned and interested in providing innovative products to support their community. Mission Fed Credit Union, the largest member-owned, not-for-profit, full-service financial institution exclusively serving San Diego County, was a perfect match. Mission Fed developed a customized version of the Gold Standard Income Advance program, collaborating with Jess and the Dr. Bronner's team, along with the RFF team, to make sure the loan offering met the needs of the Dr. Bronner's workforce. 

Dr. Bronner’s and Mission Fed launched their program at the end of 2025 and saw  approximately 5% of the workforce access it in the first month. In addition to the success of the employer sponsored small dollar loan offering, , Mission Fed provides  Dr. Bronner's staff  monthly, on-site financial education classes that they can access on company time.

Dr. Bronner's and Mission Fed are leading the charge to expand access to the Income Advance program, so that more of California's workforce has safe and equitable access to credit in times of financial stress and the opportunity to build long-term financial stability.