About Spark to Freedom
Our Story and Passion
We’re a fierce advocate for financial freedom for single women and mothers.
Spark To Freedom started as a glimmer in Bonnie Maingault’s heart.
In her 20-year journey from teller to bank manager to client services leader to wealth management executive, she shepherded a lot of accounts.
But she never thought of them as accounts. She thought of them as families.
And she noticed that most account holders weren’t superstars. They were everyday moms and dads who just wanted to take care of their families.
Bonnie resolved to make them heroes of their families.
And by building them goal-focused plans matched with practical financial tools, that’s what she did.
Sometimes the transformation from account holder to hero was especially profound. Like the turnarounds made by single mothers escaping troubled pasts with the deck stacked completely against them.
With hard work on their part and strategic, tailored advice on Bonnie’s, these women got their independence back. They broke the cycle of debt and brought their children into a life of financial peace.
With their spark and Bonnie’s fuel, they gained their freedom.
If you’re a woman leaving behind a life of domestic abuse or other family tragedy, we can spark your financial freedom too.
And if you’re an organizational leader, there are ways you can bring awareness and provide help.
Meet Bonnie
More than 20 years of financial expertise and a passion for serving women
Throughout her career in the banking, insurance, and wealth management industries, Bonnie Maingault has helped women and families of all kinds win their financial freedom.
Today, as a certified Dave Ramsey Financial Coach and Dream Manager Coach, she specializes in building wealth and funding dreams for women. Her passion is helping single mothers who face the daunting financial hurdles brought on by the turmoil of domestic abuse.
Because Bonnie was once a single mother in that exact crisis.
Years ago she made the decision to leave a life that was putting her and her two children in danger.
The same financial strategies and tools she gives to women now, she used then. Over time she forged a new life of safety, stability, and joy for her family of three.
Bonnie is what’s possible, and she makes it achievable for women.
Stats That Drive Us
Number of women in the U.S. who experience psychological aggression, coercive control, or entrapment from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Total number of workdays lost each year by survivors of intimate partner violence. This is the equivalent of 32,114 full-time jobs each year.
Total cost to society each year, including lost productivity costs and health care costs, of intimate partner violence.
21%-60%
Percentage of survivors of intimate partner violence who eventually lose their jobs due to consequences stemming from the abuse.
<40%
Percentage of women who report intimate partner violence or seek help. The main reason? There are no resources anywhere nearby.
What We Believe
You were made for freedom.
God designed you for a life of fullness and joy. That may never mean riches, but it does mean freedom. Your finances should never dictate a life of confinement or fear.
Money is just a tool.
Money may seem like a genie or a curse, with luck deciding who gets which. But it’s simply a tool that you can use. This tool is for everyone. You make your own luck with it.
Dreams are goals.
The things you dream of aren’t just wishes and fancies. They’re goals. When you start looking at them as an end point, you can start seeing your path to get there.
Stress kills dreams.
If you’re not dreaming, it’s because you’re stressed. Financial chaos is stress. It clouds your vision and separates you from your imagination.
You defy the odds.
Life after financial distress isn’t like gravity. There’s no law that it will hold you down. You have the power to change the stats on what women can achieve.
You can choose to win.
But first, you must prepare to act. You’ll win when you take the consistent, sometimes boring, often hard, but totally doable steps to financial freedom. We’ll be with you the whole time.
Our Values
We work with women to infuse their lives with each of these.
Freedom
Freedom doesn’t mean doing only what you want or being reckless. It means not being trapped. We give you the options and choices that ensure you’re never bound by people or circumstances.
Faith
Whatever your beliefs, it’s difficult to trust in what you can’t see. You may not be able to see financial freedom right now, but we work with you to make it a reality that you see and experience.
Dignity
Each of us is a spark, unique and memorable, with uncommon worth. This worth is non-negotiable. It is yours, and not what anyone else decides for you without your permission. We cherish and treasure it.
Courage
Courage is choosing to act when it’s hard and you’re scared. There will be times of uncertainty when you’re working toward your freedom. We’ll help you resolve to act.
Collaboration
Self-made doesn’t mean doing it alone. Community provides scaffolding as we rebuild ourselves. This includes family, friends, small groups, organizations where you spend time, and coaches like us.
Beauty
We are all individual works of art. We have awe, delight, gratitude, and hope to experience, to share with those around us, and to give to future generations. We help you bring out and give your best.
More Story Behind the Spark
Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Bonnie Maingault made the United States her home in 1980, at the age of 11.
For as long as she can remember, she was never afraid to rock the boat and challenge the status quo. And she’s always championed every woman’s right to have a voice and not play small.
It’s this grit that enabled her to leave a 20-year career in financial planning and create Spark to Freedom in 2023. Soon after, she began recruiting the women she calls Spark Warriors — survivors of domestic abuse, most of them with children.
Her purpose is to help them dare to dream again. Her method is restoring their dignity through financial, relational, and emotional freedom. Her tools are her personal experience and background in banking and wealth management.
And her results are women who gain the security and strength to make a generational impact. Bonnie empowers, educates, and engages them to achieve, save, build, and leave a legacy.
Bonnie’s ultimate hope is for a world where women and children are safe in their homes. Her vocation of fighting the financial ravages of domestic violence is a step toward that vision. It is also a way to combat other devastating results of domestic violence, such as declining mental health and human trafficking.
Bonnie believes that domestic tranquility starts with a single brave decision to safeguard resources.
She wants every woman to know that they and their children are worth the fight.
More Story Behind the Spark
Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Bonnie Maingault made the United States her home in 1980, at the age of 11.
For as long as she can remember, she was never afraid to rock the boat and challenge the status quo. And she’s always championed every woman’s right to have a voice and not play small.
It’s this grit that enabled her to leave a 20-year career in financial planning and create Spark to Freedom in 2023. Soon after, she began recruiting the women she calls Spark Warriors — survivors of domestic abuse, most of them with children.
Her purpose is to help them dare to dream again. Her method is restoring their dignity through financial, relational, and emotional freedom. Her tools are her personal experience and background in banking and wealth management.
And her results are women who gain the security and strength to make a generational impact. Bonnie empowers, educates, and engages them to achieve, save, build, and leave a legacy.
Bonnie’s ultimate hope is for a world where women and children are safe in their homes. Her vocation of fighting the financial ravages of domestic violence is a step toward that vision. It is also a way to combat other devastating results of domestic violence, such as declining mental health and human trafficking.
Bonnie believes that domestic tranquility starts with a single brave decision to safeguard resources.
She wants every woman to know that they and their children are worth the fight.
Be the woman who defies the odds, or an advocate who raises her chances.
Reach out about personal financial coaching, either one-on-one or through your workplace or nonprofit.