Elements Financial was honored to host at its headquarters the FinEd50 Indianapolis Event sponsored by Visa® on August 15, 2023. As part of FinEd50, a panel discussion took place to focus on the importance of financial education for young people. This topic has new relevance in Indiana, thanks to legislation recently passed that will require access to a personal finance course for every student in the state, joining 25 states that already require an economics course to graduate high school.
Elements offered not only a site for this event, but also provided talent and expertise for this cause. President/CEO Whitney Anderson greeted all the guests while Amanda Denney, SVP of Experience, spoke on the panel to offer the perspective of a financial institution that is focused on financial education within our community.
It was an honor to speak on this important subject and share how Elements Financial and the credit union industry have been helping with financial education and literacy over the years.
According to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), students from states where a financial education course is required have the highest reported financial knowledge and are more likely to display positive financial behaviors and dispositions. Delivering financial education through digital channels and classroom settings helps students better understand how to budget, plan for goals, and build wealth – all habits that can help them live more economically prosperous lives.
Following the panel, Visa hosted an interactive Financial Football game with local 7th – 12th grade students and former local professional football player Robert Mathis who engaged the students in learning financial concepts and money-management skills. The students who took part were scholars from the DreamAlive program formed by former Colts player Tarik Glenn. The organization's goal is to help break the cycle of poverty and raise up the next generation of leaders.
In 2022, Visa and the Council on Economic Education (CEE) launched FinEd50, a nationwide coalition of nonprofits, community leaders, and corporate partners dedicated to improving access to quality financial education for high school students in the United States. FinEd50 advocates for state-level legislation to require high schools to offer a personal finance course to students, while supporting school districts and teachers by providing training and financial education curriculum.
