Financial wellness

Junior Achievement’s learning experiences promote the transferable skills and competencies students need to take advantage of economic opportunity and achieve economic mobility. It’s lessons use financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurial concepts to emphasize the importance of continuing education and training beyond high school, especially in high-growth, high-demand fields.”

A nonprofit organization offering no-cost technical training and career support for people who aspire to join the tech industry in Columbus, Ohio, Per Scholas’ mission is to advance economic equity by bridging the gap between skilled talent and leading businesses. 

By providing equitable access to tech education and employer networks, Per Scholas has helped more than 25,000 individuals launch successful tech careers, the majority of whom are people of color. To continually enhance the financial literacy and skills of its participants, Per Scholas, with the help of its Bread Financial grant, also offers wellness and wealth workshops throughout its curriculum and provides continuing education for alumni like Kalib Travis who, as a service desk technician, now earns nearly double what he did prior to the program.  

It was overwhelming in terms of how much knowledge we had to take in,” said Travis. “But there was support the whole time, from my teachers, my classmates, professional development, and from Per Scholas as a whole. It was so well-organized and well-taught; it was awe-inspiring. And the amount of information and knowledge I gained throughout the program was not something I could have done on my own in just 15 weeks.

In 2023, Per Scholas enrolled 215 students, who had an average pre-training income of $17,670. After graduating with a 90% success rate, these students launched their tech careers with an average income of $45,000.

Girls Inc. of New York City inspires girls to be strong, smart and bold through various life-transforming programs, including its Her Future financial literacy curriculum funded in part by its Bread Financial grant. Using experiential education and technology, Her Future is helping teen girls transform their relationship with money by meeting girls where they are and integrating into their everyday lives.

In 2023, the program served 2,600 students across the city who gained essential skills and knowledge to manage their money and developed confidence and interest in careers in the financial sector. Upon completion of the curriculum, 96% of participants expressed interest in a career in finance or business, 67% of participants helped their family members with financial matters, and 100% of participants felt confident in making career and life decisions about money after learning about topics including credit score, credit debt and financial planning.

One participant benefiting from the program is Nahima, who first joined Girls Inc. of New York City in middle school. Currently a senior at Hunter College where she studies economics, Nahima is proud to be pursuing a career in a male-dominated field and plans to become an entrepreneur upon graduation.

When we were doing financial literacy [in eighth grade], I was thinking, 'Why are we doing this? What am I going to do with budgeting, banking and all that?'” said Nahima. “But now that I'm an adult, those classes have actually helped me a lot.