Our Impact

Our free programs provide access to personal finance education including budgeting, banking, credit, affording college, insurance, and investing. We also offer exciting opportunities for students to explore investing, entrepreneurship, and career pathways.

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Schools Involved

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Students Taught

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Teacher Partners

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Growth in financial
knowledge

At Financial Scholars we believe access to financial empowerment education is critical to overcoming systemic economic barriers.

Without adequate financial education, students are more likely to struggle with debt, financial stress and limited economic mobility. Nationally, only 4.6% of students who attend schools with greater than 75% free & reduced price lunch are guaranteed to take a personal finance class.

Bring Financial Scholars to Your State

Our Story

Financial Scholars was founded in Philadelphia in 2020. It is an evolution of a program that launched in 2016 in which the FS Foundation partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to create a financial empowerment program for historically overlooked and under-served high school students and school communities.

Building on this proven model, members of the Philadelphia financial services community, as well as several law firms, accounting firms and community organizations, joined to expand the program and reach more teachers, families and students with critical financial empowerment programs.

Financial Scholars expanded to include curriculum and professional development for daily in-school financial literacy education, entrepreneurship enrichment powered by corporate and university volunteers, paid summer workforce development programming for teens, and evening financial empowerment workshops for adults in our school communities.

The Philadelphia program yielded outstanding results for thousands of students served - 61% growth in students' financial knowledge. Expansion to other comparable high-need school districts began in 2024.

We provide high school students, teachers, and families with the tools needed to develop financial skills, build greater wealth, and achieve financial empowerment.

Graduates of high schools with guaranteed financial education save an average of $1,300 in high-interest private debt per student.
Graduates of high schools with guaranteed financial education are 21% less likely to carry a balance on a credit card while in college, submit the FAFSA 3.5% more often, and use subsidized student loans 13% more often
Learn more about our programs