Preparing the next generation for financial success

Financial literacy is a crucial life skill, and equipping the next generation for financial success requires a multifaceted approach. At Fortune’s Future of Finance 2024, moderator Diane Brady spoke with Tom Davidson, Founder of EVERFI from Blackbaud, David Nason, Chief Operating Officer at TIAA and President of TIAA Wealth Management, and Vanessa Okwuraiwe, Principal at Edward Jones about how the public and private sectors can work together to help prepare the next generation for lasting financial success.

Opportunities for financial education

While there is a lot of discussion in the news about financial education and wellness, there is a significant amount of bad financial advice circulating through various social media channels. This creates a need and an opportunity to build the infrastructure that allows automation and effective financial management to reach young people. “What really needs to happen for financial education is that it needs to be short, relatable, and understandable to make it easier for them,” David Nason emphasized.

Schools are the first place to make this kind of learning happen. For the past 16 years, EVERFI has partnered with schools across the nation, leveraging their existing infrastructure and support of students to enable financial education in the classroom. TIAA, driven by its mission to help people prepare for retirement, extends this initiative by incentivizing employers to teach their employees essential financial skills. Edward Jones, with its century-long presence and extensive reach, has partnered with EVERFI since 2020 to bring financial education to K-12 schools, aiming to reach at least 1 million learners by the end of 2025. They are currently impacting over 900,000 students and counting.

 

continue reading »