Awarded Grants
General – Education
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004
2011
Operation HOPE, Inc., Los Angeles, CA
Banking on Our Future, College Edition Mobile App
Operation HOPE is creating online and mobile application tools designed to develop healthy attitudes and behaviors about money among college students, especially those attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The new applications will address personal finance basics, examine students' financial personalities, and help students make informed decisions about acquiring student debt and managing it after graduation.
Grant amount: $229,200
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Love Your Money
The University of Tennessee and its partners are enhancing the Love Your Money financial education program for college students (www.loveyourmoney.org) to allow instructors to monitor and assess individual student progress, thus making the tool more suitable as a course assignment. The project team is also undertaking marketing activities that engage faculty members and others responsible for shaping student learning and college life experiences, expanding the number of campuses using Love Your Money, and continuing to evaluate the program to determine its longer-term effectiveness in promoting positive financial behavior as underclassmen progress through subsequent college years.
Grant amount: $332,035
2010
First Nations Development Institute, Longmont, CO
Partnering with the Office of the Special Trustee: New Distribution Channels for Investor Education
First Nations Development Institute is partnering with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians to create new marketing and distribution channels to meet the financial and investor education needs of Native Americans. This project builds upon two previous Foundation grants to First Nations that resulted in the development of print and online versions of a curriculum, Building Native Communities: Investing for the Future, and two complementary resources, an Instructor Guide and a Resource Guide, designed for trainers who provide investor education to Native Americans.
Grant amount: $519,194
National Labor College, Silver Spring, MD
Investor Education for Working Families
The National Labor College is partnering with unions from multiple industry sectors, as well as apprenticeship programs, to provide access to face-to-face and online investor education to union members and their families.
Grant amount: $618,035
2009
The ASPIRA Association, Inc., Washington, DC
Expanding Hispanic Communities' Awareness of the Importance of Financial Investment
The ASPIRA Association and its media partners will conduct a nationwide social marketing campaign to communicate the importance of investing and wealth creation to first- and second-generation Latinos. The project will expand the capacity of Hispanic community- and faith-based organizations to deliver investor education workshops and facilitate the achievement of personal and family financial goals.
Grant amount: $596,949
Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Miami, FL
Your Mind and Your Money
Nightly Business Report and Kiplinger's Personal Finance will undertake a year-long series of coordinated broadcasts and companion articles exploring behavioral finance and its implications for investors. The series will include 24 broadcast segments, a 30-minute broadcast special, 12 related articles in Kiplinger's and Web products. The two dozen broadcast segments will alternate between field reports and expert interviews. The special will help retail investors recognize their potential susceptibility to cognitive errors and adjust their investment decision-making accordingly.
Grant amount: $435,740
Drexel University, The Math Forum, Philadelphia, PA
The Math Forum Enhanced Tools for Financial Literacy
The Math Forum@Drexel, a leading online provider of mathematics education and teacher professional development, will bring together mathematicians, math teachers and financial literacy experts, who will work with each other and with students to address financial literacy concepts within the core mathematics curriculum.
Grant amount: $289,737
National Council on Aging, Washington, DC
New Choices, New Challenges: Strengthening Consumer Education on Home Equity as a Retirement Resource
The National Council on Aging and its partners will create, promote and maintain an online decision tool to help older homeowners (ages 55 and over) understand options and risks for using home equity as a retirement resource.
Grant amount: $470,792
2008
American Credit Alliance, Morrisville, PA
Money Talks: Building a Brighter Future
This pilot program provides 100 adult men and women serving a term of state or federal probation, parole or supervised release in New Jersey with financial literacy training, so as to help reduce recidivism and its costly social implications. Partners include the regional Goodwill Industries, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey and the New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education. Rutgers University Cooperative Extension is evaluating the effort.
Grant amount: $42,938
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Investor Education for College Students
A coalition of five land-grant universities led by the University of Tennessee is providing financial education to college students through a combination of online coursework and face-to-face instruction. The project leverages learning resources and marketing materials created with an earlier Foundation grant, as well as the Cooperative Extension System's e-learning platform (known as eXtension). Deliverables include a rigorous, third-party evaluation using a quasi-experimental methodology.
Grant amount: $680,680
2007
AFSCME Training and Education Institute, Washington, DC
Investor Education for Working Families
The AFSCME Training and Education Institute is developing a comprehensive investor education program for AFSCME’s 1.4 million members. Partnering with BetterInvesting, this project will use an on-line, self-paced investor education curriculum along with DVDs, printed materials and a strong outreach program.
Grant amount: $692,180
American Public Media, St. Paul, MN
Investor Education Reporting for the Underserved on Marketplace®
In follow-up to an earlier Foundation grant, APM will continue to provide investor education reporting on the popular Marketplace® suite of radio programs on National Public Radio and American Forces Radio Network, including Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report® and Marketplace Money®. In addition, APM will produce a special series focusing on the financial education needs of military families. Visit the Marketplace website to hear the segments.
Grant amount: $711,153
Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Miami, FL
Get Your Finances Ready for Retirement
In partnership with the Nightly Business Report and US News & World Report, Community TV of South Florida is producing television reports and specials, along with monthly companion print articles, to help new retirees and those approaching retirement understand financial issues related to retirement decumulation.
Grant amount: $478,700
Council for Economic Education, New York, NY
Learning, Earning and Investing: The Game
CEE will expand the reach and appeal of one of the most frequently used financial literacy curricula for middle and high school students through development of a companion computer game with 15 interactive segments, a dedicated website and a teacher resource guide. The organization will leverage its resources, reputation and expertise (including its national network of affiliated State Councils) to design, promote, evaluate and sustain the program.
Grant amount: $825,375
Education and Research Foundation of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan New York, Inc., New York, NY
Update and Redistribute Get More Money Now
Metro New York BBB Foundation will update and distribute 155,000 additional copies of Better Business Bureau's Get More Money Now brochure and website, produced with a 2004 FINRA Foundation grant, in order to meet continued high demand.
Grant amount: $68,000
eXtension Foundation, Lincoln, NE
Online Investment Education for Farm Households
The eXtension Foundation is adapting its award-winning curriculum—Investing for Your Future—to serve the investor education needs of farm households in the United States through an interactive, Web-based learning environment. The project includes market research to tailor the program for maximum reach and effectiveness, and employs the resources and expertise of the Cooperative Extension Service and its 3,000+ county offices to design, promote, evaluate and sustain the program.
Grant amount: $449,505
The ASPIRA Association, Washington, DC
Increasing Hispanic Investors through Investments Education and Investing Career Awareness
ASPIRA is developing a comprehensive investor education program for the Hispanic community, including a Web-based and downloadable bilingual curriculum in English and Spanish, to be disseminated through a national train-the-trainer program. The project also includes a partnership with HITN-TV to produce a series of public service announcements and talk shows on the topics of saving and investing.
Grant amount: $646,507
2006
Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, Columbus, OH
Improving the Financial Management of Intact and Divorcing Couples
AFCPE is delivering a six-part continuing education program, Money 1 to 1, to members of non-finance professional counseling associations dealing with relationship and divorce issues. The training enables counselors to assist clients with financial communications, budgeting and cash flow management, managing investments and residences and tax issues in divorce. In exchange for receiving the education, counselors are required to provide pro bono services to individuals or couples.
Grant amount: $629,310
First Nations Development Institute, Longmont, CO
Investing for the Future: Native Community Partnerships
First Nations is preparing an instructor guide and a resource guide for trainers who provide investment education to Native American communities. The guides serve as companion pieces to First Nations’ investor education curriculum (produced with earlier Foundation support). First Nations is also building awareness of the importance of investor education among tribes through national training events, and working with two Native American communities to implement the training program as a model for peer education. All of these activities are supported by an InvestNative Web portal (currently under development) to make the investment education materials and resources available in electronic form for tribal members and trainers desiring to learn more about investing in the Native context.
Grant amount: $447,475
Pace University School of Law, New York, NY
Guide to Dispute Resolution for the Small Investor
Experts at Pace Law School have developed and are distributing an educational guide (PDF 3.49 MB) to help small, individual investors understand their legal rights and responsibilities in order to avoid disputes, or seek resolution through arbitration or mediation in the event of a dispute.
Grant amount: $153,725
Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, Washington, DC
Nurses' Investor Education Project: Opportunities, Challenges and Moving Forward
In partnership with the Center for American Nurses, WISER has created a replicable investor education program for nurses. The project begins with a survey of nurses to identify important issues, and will include a Nurse Investor Education Report with benchmarking to the national nurse workforce. WISER and the Center will tailor existing investor education materials and conduct financial education seminars for the target audience.
Grant amount: $495,250
2005
American Public Media (APM), St. Paul, MN
Investor Education on Marketplace Money and Marketplace
APM has produced a wide range of engaging investor education segments tied to timely news events. It has also developed interactive Web content and resources to complement the the on-air programming. Segments aired as part of the Marketplace® suite of programs, comprised of Marketplace®, Marketplace Morning Report® and Marketplace Money®. Investor education news and content is available on the Marketplace Money website.
Grant amount: $487,342
Baruch College, New York, NY
Young Investor Online Guide
Baruch and its partners developed an interactive investment guide tailored to young adults, particularly those making career choices. The guide, DollarsFromSense.com, was promoted nationally through implementation of a marketing plan involving the Miami University chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the Career Services Association of the City University of New York, the Special Libraries Association Business & Finance Division and the Library Association of the City University of New York.
Grant amount: $240,829
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Montana, Great Falls, MT
Montana Native American Student Investor Education Program
CCCS of Montana is delivering investor education to tribal youth members of the American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) Student Organization on three Montana reservations. The project utilizes investor education curriculum developed by First Nations Development Institute, a 2004 FINRA Foundation grantee, and includes training of investment educators in Montana. CCCS will work with through the AIBL organization to replicate to reservations nationally.
Grant amount: $72,846
Education Development Center (EDC), Newton, MA
TV411 Save Smart—A TV Special and a Multimedia Investor Literacy Project
Through its Adult Literacy Media Alliance, EDC created three investor education video segments and accompanying student and teacher materials. The segments form part of the organization's ongoing television series, TV411, which airs primarily on public television and cable stations nationwide. The segments deliver investment education through learning about key math concepts and investment-related vocabulary. The videos are available by visiting the project website.
Grant amount: $210,000
National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC), Madison Heights, MI
Investing in Your Future
NAIC, also known as BetterInvesting, is piloting a project to develop best practices for delivering online investment education to union members nationwide.
Grant amount: $354,500
Partnership for After School Education, New York, NY
Dollars & Sense: Building Financial Dreams
PASE leveraged its network of youth service organizations to deliver workplace investor education to young adult workers. The project employed a two-tiered investor education approach: train young adult employees of PASE member organizations and assist these employees with mentoring youth served by those PASE organizations.
Grant amount: $150,000
Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
Financial Literacy Training for High School Students
SNHU’s Center for Financial Studies developed a series of interactive investment education modules for high school students. The modules were piloted and tested in collaboration with the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, and are now available for use by schools nationwide.
Grant amount: $103,300
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, and Michigan 4-H Foundation, Grand Rapids, MI
4-H Build a Million Club
In conjunction with Michigan State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee, the project team developed an investment club curriculum, Leader's Guide (PDF 12 MB) and companion website for the establishment of 4-H investment clubs. Materials are available for free through eXtension.org. The project supports club leaders by providing ongoing financial lessons and learning resources.
Grant amount: $189,373
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
Preparing Young Employees to Build Wealth Over Their Working Careers
The University of Tennessee, University of Florida, Kansas State University and the University of Kentucky have joined forces to deliver workplace investor education to young adult workers in their respective states. Project leaders have developed a portfolio of curricula, key investment education concepts and workplace education methodologies suitable for customization to worksites nationwide.
Grant amount: $237,081
2004
Boston College Center for Retirement Research, Chestnut Hill, MA
Empowering Women: Impediments and Solutions in Financial Decision Making
The Boston College team developed an interactive game-based educational program to provide investor education, with an emphasis on retirement planning, primarily to 45-60 year old women. The project was a collaboration with the Northeastern University Education Technology Center and Matthew Greenwald & Associates. To download the game, which is designed to be played in a moderated group setting, visit the project website.
Grant amount: $150,000
Education and Research Foundation of The Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York, New York, NY
Get More Money Now: How To Have Better Credit and More Money For Things That Matter
Metro New York BBB Foundation created simple materials, in English and Spanish, to guide financial decision making. These materials discuss investment issues in a way that appeals to people who may not be seeking investment advice. The project has a dedicated website, with comprehensive resources.
Grant amount: $75,000
First Nations Development Institute, Longmont, CO
Building Native Communities: Investment Skills for Families
First Nations added an investor education component to its financial education model for Native American populations. They created a curriculum and trained a pool of Native Americans to deliver the new material. The complete curriculum is available online at the project website.
Grant amount: $92,070
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA
A Saving and Education Model for Elementary and Secondary School Employees
The Louisiana State Agricultural Center is developing, implementing and testing a model for workplace investor education tailored to specific occupations. The pilot model focuses on K-12 school system employees, primarily women, in Louisiana.
Grant amount: $74,492
Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL
Investor Protection Clinic
Northwestern Law School has established the first securities arbitration clinic in the Midwest to provide legal representation for small investors with limited income. The Clinic is also developing a start-up guidebook for establishing a securities arbitration clinic.
Grant amount: $120,000