Charles Schwab Foundation—the private, nonprofit organization funded by
The Charles Schwab Corporation—today announced a commitment of $1
million to advance youth financial capability, capital markets literacy,
and civics education across the US. This three-year grant will support
the SIFMA Foundation's Capitol Hill Challenge® - a special
edition of The Stock Market Game™ that pairs individual
members of Congress and financial capability programming with public
schools in every congressional district nationwide.
Charles Schwab Foundation’s grant will expand schools’ access to
financial capability educational programs – a beneficial investment
according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which reported
that such programming receives $230 million in annual federal funding as
compared to $3 billion invested in STEM subjects.
"We are honored to support the Capitol Hill Challenge,” said Walt
Bettinger, president and CEO of The Charles Schwab Corporation. “This
commitment extends Schwab’s support of financial education for everyone,
from teens to adults, and can help advance middle and high school
students’ understanding of personal finance, the capital markets, and
math and economics – all of which are so important to success in our
rapidly changing world. We strongly believe in the power of financial
education to transform lives and enable people to achieve more for
themselves and their loved ones."
The Capitol Hill Challenge is an innovative national financial education
competition for public junior high and high schools that reaches all 50
U.S. states and connects members of Congress to students, teachers, and
schools competing in The Stock Market Game in their respective
districts. Through its support of this program, Charles Schwab
Foundation will engage thousands of student teams as managers of a
hypothetical $100,000 online portfolio that they can invest in stocks,
bonds, and mutual funds. Participants will develop essential life skills
such as teamwork, cooperation, research, analysis, and decision-making
while enhancing their core academic knowledge.
“In my teens I was lucky to have the experience of investing in my first
stock,” said Schwab Founder and Chairman Chuck Schwab. “I didn’t know it
at the time but what I was really doing was participating in and
supporting the American financial system. My investment was a vote for
that company and the products it produced. It would be wonderful if
every young American could invest in stocks and experience how our
system works and how investing is participating in the growth engine of
our economy. The SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game is great way to
bring that experience alive.”
Adding to the excitement for students and their teachers, senators and
representatives visit their matched schools to meet with student teams
and discuss current issues and the importance of financial capability.
Additionally, the 10 top-ranked Capitol Hill Challenge teams are awarded
an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to meet their member of
Congress and be recognized at an awards reception on Capitol Hill. They
also attend meetings with business, government, and education leaders to
learn more about fiscal policymaking, the role of the capital markets,
and global economic trends. Winners also tour financial landmarks and
national monuments.
Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation said she is
extremely grateful for the gift and for the relationship with Schwab.
“Charles Schwab's cornerstone support for the SIFMA Foundation’s Capitol
Hill Challenge lays the groundwork for a financially prepared,
economically savvy generation that also understands the role of
government in policymaking. Together, we are paving the way for
stronger, more cohesive and vibrant communities by connecting members of
Congress with their youngest constituents.”
The Capitol Hill Challenge is the nation’s only financial education
program engaging 100% of Congress. Since its inception in 2004, the
program has made 3,272 matches of U.S. representatives and senators with
schools, encompassing more than 90,000 students across the country. The
program has proven impacts in raising students’ math, economics and
personal finance test scores. The grant from Charles Schwab Foundation
provides public middle school and high school teachers nationwide with
the support they need to bring financial education into their classrooms
including curricula, online and in-person teacher training, academic
standards and correlations, assistance securing visits and
communications with members of Congress, and incentives, awards and
prizes for winners.
Through its support for the Capitol Hill Challenge, Charles Schwab
Foundation is filling a gap in our nation’s schools. When recently asked
by the National Financial Educators Council, “What high school-level
course would benefit your life the most,” more than half of 2,409 people
across each of six age categories indicated personal finance as their
preference, beating out math, science, and social studies combined.
Research shows that exposure to financial education throughout life can
be key to success. Charles Schwab has reinforced this as a leading
proponent for financial education, having served millions of individuals
of all ages through its philanthropic and community investments,
including:
-
Money
Matters: Make it Count
– Charles Schwab Foundation’s program
in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America providing
basic money management skills to teens ages 13-18;
-
Schwab
MoneyWise
website and workshops – personal finance education
for people of all ages;
-
A new
DonorsChoose
program
supporting innovative financial education projects in
classrooms across America – every dollar donated to financial
literacy-focused projects on DonorsChoose.org will be matched by
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., up to $100,000;
-
Schwab
MoneyWise on Campus
– financial education for college students
in collaboration with select universities;
-
The Charles Schwab Wealth Management Workshop at Indiana
University’s Kelley School of Business and at Leeds School of Business
at the University of Colorado Boulder – aiming to spark interest in
financial planning and increase the pipeline of qualified financial
planning professionals;
-
Foundation for Financial Planning — financial advisors making a
difference in the lives of others by providing pro-bono financial
planning to those in need. Charles Schwab and Charles Schwab
Foundation are longtime supporters and surpassed a contribution
commitment of $2 million in 2016;
-
Schwab Advisor Services and Charles Schwab Foundation have worked
together since 2007 to advance the independent investment advisor
industry, creating awareness of the profession and helping
cultivate first-class talent for firms to attract. These grants,
dedicated on behalf of advisors, have helped extend financial planning
training and education to high school and college students across the
country. This includes Texas Tech University’s Financial Planning
Academy – a summer program for high school students interested in
learning about careers in financial planning.
Schwab is the first company to make a public commitment toward
increasing financial capability and inclusion through the national
sponsorship of SIFMA Foundation’s Capitol Hill Challenge program.
About Charles Schwab Foundation
Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by
The Charles Schwab Corporation (Charles Schwab). Its mission is to
create positive change through financial education, philanthropy, and
volunteerism. More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com/community.
The Charles Schwab Foundation is classified by the IRS as a charity
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is
neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) or its
affiliates.
About Charles Schwab
At Charles Schwab, we believe in the power of investing to help
individuals create a better tomorrow. We have a history of challenging
the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that benefit
investors and the advisors and employers who serve them, and championing
our clients’ goals with passion and integrity. More information is
available at www.aboutschwab.com.
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and LinkedIn.
Disclosures
Through its operating subsidiaries, The Charles Schwab Corporation
(NYSE: SCHW) provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking,
money management and financial advisory services to individual investors
and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary,
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC,
www.sipc.org),
and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and
products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial
planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation
plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to
independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational
and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors
through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab
Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and
lending services and products. The Charles Schwab Corporation (and its
affiliates) and the Charles Schwab Foundation are unaffiliated with the
SIFMA Foundation or Boys & Girls Clubs of America. More information is
available at www.schwab.com
and www.aboutschwab.com.
Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose
Value.
About the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education
The SIFMA Foundation is dedicated to fostering knowledge and
understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all
backgrounds, with a focus on youth. Drawing on the support and expertise
of the financial industry, the SIFMA Foundation provides financial
education programs and tools that strengthen economic opportunities
across communities and increase individuals’ access to the benefits of
the global marketplace. Notable Foundation programs include the Stock
Market Game, which has served 17 million students since it began in
1977, the InvestWrite national essay competition, www.investwrite.org,
the Capitol Hill Challenge, and Invest It Forward. For more information
on the work of the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation
.
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