Working Assets
Encyclopedia
CREDO is an American for-profit company that offers mobile and long distance phone service. Based in San Francisco, California
, Working Assets has raised over $65 million for nonprofit organizations such as GreenPeace
, Planned Parenthood
, Democracy Now etc.
was founded in 1985 by Peter Barnes. Its first product was the Better World Credit Card. Following telecom deregulation, it introduced Working Assets Long Distance in 1991. In 2000 it launched its mobile service under the name Working Assets Wireless.
, in 2006.
network.
, the product came under criticism when it was issued through the bank MBNA
, the top contributor to George W. Bush
's 2000 Presidential Campaign. When asked about this, Working Assets' employees have made differing claims. In one letter, it was stated that Working Assets chose MBNA regardless of its political views and entirely for its experience and quality customer service. In another letter, president Michael Kieschnick stated that Working Assets ended up under MBNA when the company purchased the credit card business of Fleet Bank, which had previously issued the card. Kieschnick said it was not Working Assets' choice to select MBNA and cannot change banks without violating its current contract. MBNA was subsequently purchased by Bank of America
.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Working Assets has raised over $65 million for nonprofit organizations such as GreenPeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
, Democracy Now etc.
History
Working AssetsWorking Assets
CREDO is an American for-profit company that offers mobile and long distance phone service. Based in San Francisco, California, Working Assets has raised over $65 million for nonprofit organizations such as GreenPeace, Planned Parenthood, Democracy Now etc.-History:Working Assets was founded in...
was founded in 1985 by Peter Barnes. Its first product was the Better World Credit Card. Following telecom deregulation, it introduced Working Assets Long Distance in 1991. In 2000 it launched its mobile service under the name Working Assets Wireless.
Name change
In November 2007, Working Assets announced that it was changing its name to CREDO to better reflect the company’s values: a belief that people, through donations to nonprofits and political activism, can effect progressive change. The names of its phone services were changed to CREDO Mobile and CREDO Long Distance. The name of its credit card, however, remains the Working Assets Credit Card.Environmental record
In 2009, CREDO was recognized by the nonprofit Planning and Conservation League as the Environmental Business of the Year.Publishing
Working Assets also published the book, How Would a Patriot Act? by Glenn GreenwaldGlenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
, in 2006.
Mobile phone service
CREDO Mobile is an MVNO and does not own/operate its own network infrastructure. As of 2011, it is reselling service on the SprintSprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
network.
Elections
In the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, CREDO helped 2.5 million Americans register to vote. To increase voter turnout, CREDO Action launched several programs: Pollworkers for Democracy, which hired volunteers to staff polling places and ensure fair voting practices; Text Out the Vote, a Web site where you could enter your friends’ phone numbers and send them a free reminder to vote on Election Day; support for Election Day registration, which was approved in several states; an online voter-registration tool; and govote.org, another online resource where voters could look up their nearest polling place.Credit card
Although the Working Assets credit card is now offered through Bank of AmericaBank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, the product came under criticism when it was issued through the bank MBNA
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
, the top contributor to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's 2000 Presidential Campaign. When asked about this, Working Assets' employees have made differing claims. In one letter, it was stated that Working Assets chose MBNA regardless of its political views and entirely for its experience and quality customer service. In another letter, president Michael Kieschnick stated that Working Assets ended up under MBNA when the company purchased the credit card business of Fleet Bank, which had previously issued the card. Kieschnick said it was not Working Assets' choice to select MBNA and cannot change banks without violating its current contract. MBNA was subsequently purchased by Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.