Dear Teachers and Parents,
This June, during Financial Literacy Month, we have some to share.
In 2015, a free online financial education course named FutureSmart was introduced to middle school students, specifically targeting this group at a time in their lives when financial habits take hold and grow.
Fast forward to today, FutureSmart, available in English and Spanish, has reached over 13,000 schools across all 50 states. More than two million students have completed the course, with almost half coming from low-to-moderate income families.
But we aren't stopping there. We promise to reach four million more students by the end of 2025.
Why? Because this moment calls for brave action. Never before have money management and investment decisions been so easy to conduct at any time or place through the use of a smartphone. It is time to offer students more critical financial literacy education to encourage them to make good financial decisions on a daily basis as they make their way through a complex world.
From weighing opportunity costs to delaying instant satisfaction for long-term financial gain, FutureSmart educates our youth using hands-on simulations (模拟) to introduce concepts like daily financial decisions and the rewards of long-term planning. Teaching young learners how to build solid financial foundations is an important step in building financially healthy communities.
Although our work is far from complete, we know that FutureSmart works. And it works exceptionally well.
In the largest study of its kind, supported by the MassMutual Foundation and EVERFI, the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI) recently concluded that 90% of students saw a statistically significant and educationally meaningful increase in knowledge after taking the FutureSmart course.
What's more, these results were consistent across all student demographics including race, age, gender, school year, and socioeconomic status.
We have a long way to go to reach every single middle school student, but we welcome the challenge. Together, our teams have started a movement to provide equal access to financial education, and we invite others to join us.
Visit getfuturesmart.com to learn more and see how you can bring FutureSmart to the young people in your life.
MICHAEL FANNING RAY MARTINEZ
Head of MassMutual US President and Co-Founder of EVERFI
