Youth Initiatives

Teach young adults financial survival skills with the NEFE^®
High School Financial Planning Program^®

The NEFE High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP) is a fully developed curriculum that credit union people can take into schools at no charge.

The HSFPP curriculum consists of seven units that integrate easily into a number of existing high school courses, such as math, social studies, economics, and consumer or life science.

HSFPP materials provide a basic introduction to personal financial planning, covering the impact of career and work factors on earnings potential, spending and saving money, using and managing credit effectively, protecting assets, and the time value of money. Students also are taught how to develop their own personal spending and savings plan.

Teachers accept the HSFPP because the materials are concept-based and don't sell products or promote a specific financial institution.

The program consists of a 128-page personal finance guide for each student, which is filled with practical assignments relevant to a teenager's experience, and a step-by-step 275-page instructor's manual. Both are available at no charge.

Teachers are encouraged to team up with a financial professional to teach the program. That's where YOU come in.

The National Endowment for Financial Education^®(NEFE) provides the High School Financial Planning Program at no cost to public and private high schools throughout the country. It is based on the philosophy that discipline in managing money is best achieved if it is learned early in life.

The establishment of the NEFE-CUNA agreement creates a powerful three-way partnership for the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program. Since 1991, NEFE has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and participating Land-Grant University Cooperative Extension Services (CES) to revise, distribute, and evaluate the program. CES will continue its involvement at the national level, as well as locally through its broad network of Extension educators and specialists.

"Recent surveys and polls show many young people today lack basic financial knowledge. That lack of knowledge directly relates to financial problems these young adults may face later in life, such as bankruptcy and difficulty in obtaining affordable credit. We want to help change that. Our partnership with NEFE and CES is a great way to put the credit union philosophy of 'people helping people' into action."
-- Daniel A. Mica, CUNA president and CEO

"Our efforts to build and meet demand for the HSFPP will make credit unions' invaluable work easier as you join NEFE and the Cooperative Extension System in getting the program into the hands of millions more young Americans. In addition, promoting a "new and improved" HSFPP gives your credit union a unique window of opportunity to help create demand for financial education in schools, and gain additional visibility in your community. "
-- Ted Beck, president and CEO of NEFE

"Extension now has another strong partner working at the local level—through credit union professionals—to spread the word about the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program, a curriculum proven through evaluation to be effective in changing youths' attitudes, behaviors, and self-confidence about money. If more high school students in the U.S. completed this program, youth financial literacy could be significantly improved."
-- Jane Schuchardt, Ph.D., National Program Leader, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA

CUNA's contact for questions about the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program is Philip Heckman (phone: 800-356-9655, ext. 4088; e-mail: pheckman@cuna.coop).