Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta has changed its name to CredAbility. The organization says the rebranding provides a distinct, new identity and better reflects its national presence in providing consumer credit counseling and education.

The organization has also adopted a new logo and launched an enhanced website, CredAbility.org, which makes it easier for people in financial distress to find and use the agency’s services.

Founded 46 years ago in Atlanta as a community credit counseling agency, CredAbility is one of the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofit credit counseling organizations. In recent years, it has expanded to provide services in all 50 states over the telephone and the Internet, in both English and Spanish.

Last year alone, the organization delivered counseling and education to more than 754,000 people and is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost service providers in foreclosure prevention, reverse mortgage, bankruptcy pre-filing counseling, and debtor education.

“Under the new CredAbility name, our organization will have a distinct identity that better reflects our national presence while staying true to the values and mission that have defined us since 1964,” said Suzanne Boas, president of CredAbility. “At the same time, we’re proud of our roots

and community service in metropolitan Atlanta and cities across Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi where we have local offices and employees. Our new brand will enable us to serve these communities better than ever before.”

Boas continued, “The name CredAbility will bring additional benefits to our organization. It will help avoid confusion with other CCCS agencies around the nation, and our new Web site, CredAbility.org, provides an online extension of the same personalized service we provide through other channels. Our employees are featured on the site to humanize the counseling experience, which helps people understand they have a trusted partner on their journey toward financial stability and empowerment.”

In addition, the new national brand enables CredAbility to promote its services directly to consumers with the greatest financial need anywhere in the country, the organization explained. Later this year, CredAbility will launch a multi-media advertising campaign that will extend nationally to raise awareness of its services for consumers in financial distress.

“CCCS of Greater Atlanta has changed the face of financial counseling and we believe the organization’s new name truly captures their national reach and commitment,” said Ben Hecht, president and CEO of Living Cities, an innovative philanthropic collaborative of 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions. “The fact that it helps hundreds of thousands of people a year in all 50 states—in an industry where the average organization serves no more than 100 people in one neighborhood—is all you need to know about their importance to America’s financial future. We look forward to being a partner to CredAbility for years to come.”

In a related announcement last week, the organization also launched the CredAbility Consumer Distress Index, a new quarterly measure of the financial distress of American consumers. The proprietary index tracks shifts in the financial condition of consumers based on data sets including employment, housing, credit, household budget, and net worth.