History of Financial Literacy Advancement

In 1995, the nonprofit organization, The Jump$tart Coalition, publicly recognized the long-standing issue of financial literacy. It’s defined as the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of well-being. Since then, lots of proposed solutions to improve the health and well-being of the U.S. population have been made, with seemingly little success.

The 2008 financial crisis then sparked states across the country to require personal finance courses in Kindergarten through Grade 12 education in order to graduate. Even with these classes, students failed to improve their financial literacy and capability. In fact, some tests have shown students and individuals have less today than at any time in the last ten years.

Financial Illiteracy Is Not Unique to Any One Population

It affects everyone - men and women, young and old, all racial and socio-economic groups. Unfortunately, most people learn about personal finance only when they experience an undesirable situation such as bankruptcy. This problem cannot be ignored.

The Mercadien Foundation worked to remove the stigma that personal finance is scary and complex by addressing financial literacy through research and reaching out to communities to determine the gaps in personal financial literacy. Focusing on adult consumers, nonprofit organizations, K-12 educators, and high school students, we identified areas where programs could be implemented to help better educate constituencies in need. Highlights of our initial surveys can be found in our 2015 Financial Literacy White Paper. 

There’s a need for more programs and resources to supplement the finance courses in schools. We developed a set of helpful strategic goals that guide us: