The SIFMA Foundation today joined SIFMA and the financial sector to launch Invest it Forward, an industry-wide financial education and capital markets literacy campaign convening hundreds of financial firms that are committed to giving young Americans a solid understanding of the capital markets system. The program is kicking-off in April, which is Financial Literacy Month.
“The SIFMA Foundation is thrilled to join with hundreds of firms across the financial industry to kick-off Invest it Forward™ during Financial Literacy Month and invest in our nation’s youth,” said Melanie Mortimer, Executive Director of the SIFMA Foundation. “We are especially pleased to be partnering with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to launch a new multimedia curriculum focused on the Capital Markets that fills a gap in educational content and enables young people of all backgrounds to better understand how capital markets can work for them to achieve their dreams.”
Invest It Forward™ connects the financial services community to America’s bright young minds by bringing capital markets literacy into classrooms and inviting students and teachers into the workplace. Complementing the SIFMA Foundation's critically acclaimed national Stock Market Game™ program, which has reached 15 million students, volunteers from industry firms will personally offer exciting, multimedia in-school and afterschool lessons created in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. They will help our nation's youth better prepare for their own futures to become financially capable and engaged citizens.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the SIFMA Foundation to reach students across the country with curricular materials for teaching about capital markets.” said Mary Suiter, assistant vice president with responsibility for economic education at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “The videos, online courses and lessons created through this initiative will help young people be better prepared to manage their financial future. These materials complement the St. Louis Fed’s other economic education materials found at www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.”
The objectives of Invest it Forward are to help young people better understand capital markets and the opportunities they provide for economic growth; to connect financial firms and their employees with educational programs nationwide to promote capital markets literacy; and to work with financial education leaders to create online, interactive financial education materials for volunteers to present in the classroom. Program materials and volunteer opportunities are accessible from sifma.org/invest-it-forward.
There are multiple volunteer opportunities for members of the financial industry interested in being a part of Invest it Forward, all available throughwww.sifma.org/invest-it-forward, including:
· Serving as a guest speaker in classrooms and youth-serving nonprofit organizations and using the Invest It Forward™ curriculum or your own
· Serving as an Investwrite® Judge and helping to select the nation’s top elementary, middle and high school essay about long-term investing
· Assisting a school/educator in learning about and accessing the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game™ program and its associated resources
· Hosting a class or group of students at your workplace for a panel presentation about the world of work and careers and/or a tour of an office setting
Financial Literacy by the Numbers:
· 91% of parents say they are committed to instilling financial responsibility in their children.
· 52% of teens say they want to learn more about how to manage their money.
· 85% of American parents surveyed thought that a course in personal finance should be a high school graduation requirement.
· 89% of teachers agree or strongly agree that students should take a financial literacy course or pass a test for high school graduation.
· 76% of teens report the best time to learn about money management in kindergarten through high school but only 29% reported programs are currently in place.
Invest It Forward complements the SIFMA Foundation’s portfolio of programs including the Stock Market Game™ program, the InvestWrite® student essay competition, and the annual Capitol Hill Challenge™, a 14-week competition currently underway in which a class from every Congressional district is matched with their Member of Congress to learn about financial markets and fiscal policy-making.
