Two current seniors from Horace Greeley High School (Chappaqua, NY) and one Greeley graduate currently majoring in finance at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management have come together to form The LIFE (Literacy in Finance and Economics) Initiative. The LIFE Initiative is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to spreading financial literacy to historically underserved and underrepresented communities. Although they started small, they have made global ripples in the financial literacy sector.
According to Annuity, “In 2021, 86% of teens were interested in investing, but 45% said they didn’t invest because they didn’t feel confident.” The LIFE Initiative’s goal is to provide both online and in-person resources for a broad, diverse population, ranging from children just starting to understand the concept of money to young adults who have never properly learned personal finance principles to even adults in the workforce. By accessing their website, thelifeinit.org, you can find sneak peeks of their most important workshop lessons and sign up for the best way to stay updated in the current complex financial and economic scene, the LIFE Newsletter.
A report by Forbes also stated, “Although 75% of teens lack confidence in our knowledge of personal finance, 73% reported wanting more personal finance education in 2021.” Three years ago (2021), The LIFE Initiative was founded after witnessing firsthand the limited opportunities for financial literacy education within our local community. Soon, however, the Initiative began to look beyond the boundaries of their founding town, instead thinking of the teens living in more underserved communities.
The fact is, in a world where business practices are often both complicated and unethical, success (in its many forms) has become intertwined with financial and economic literacy. “That’s why we want to help–The LIFE Initiative believes that everyone, no matter our age, home, or perceived status, deserves an equal chance at finding our own meaning of success, whether that be personal success, financial success, or social success,” says Executive Director, Advait Huggahalli.
The core of The LIFE Initiative is in its ambassadors. We have 51 current ambassadors who volunteer within our local communities. Ranging from students at Horace Greeley High School to students from states on the other side of the country, LIFE ambassadors hold presentations, workshops, and teach at our local libraries and Boys & Girls Clubs across America. “Our resources are made and taught by teens for teens. Rest assured, knowing you can relate to our ambassadors,” adds LIFE President, Zayaan Hussain. LIFE ambassadors are trained to develop content that is easily digestible, accessible, and tailored to be directly applicable to young adults’ daily lives.
LIFE has served multiple communities, reaching 11,000 young adults in 100+ countries through workshops, videos, and our partnerships with local libraries and nationally established organizations like the Boys and Girls Club of America. “I’ve connected with so many young adults from so many places across the globe. It is beyond fulfilling to know I have made a positive difference,” says Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Fang. LIFE is also now partnered with the internationally established Lincoln Method, a company focused on expanding education technology globally, whose mission is also to uplift underserved youth.
Currently, LIFE is in discussions with NYS Senator Pete Harckham to draft bills and proposals and pass laws increasing the role of financial literacy in our current statewide education system. LIFE is striving to get proper financial education resources into the hands of students across New York State. They were also invited to Helsinki, Finland, to discuss financial literacy education improvement with the Government of Finland, making informative videos encouraging the global youth to learn about financial literacy, and attracting the attention of investors from global VC firms–namely, Infinit Capital.
In Helsinki, LIFE conducted research at the Helsinki Education Hub, a space sponsored by Google, HP, Microsoft, and more. Here they explored trends in financial literacy among young adults in different regions of the world to develop a curriculum that caters to students across the globe. This curriculum was later internationally certified by the Lincoln Method, and The LIFE Initiative received a gold pin of merit for their work from Finnish dignitaries.
Going into 2024, LIFE plans on exploring and establishing multiple chapters across America, and even internationally. While still not fully implemented, we have started a chapter joining system in which people can apply to start a LIFE chapter wherever they may be on the globe. We are also working with executives from Lincoln Method and VTT–The Technical Research Center of Finland–to develop ways to implement educational technology methods into our curriculum and workshops to grow LIFE further globally.
