For the month of January 2022, FPP Coalition would like highlight Coalition partner: National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). NEFE champions effective financial education. They are the independent, centralizing voice providing leadership, research and collaboration to advance financial well-being.

As one of the first organizations to wholly dedicate its efforts on improving the effectiveness of financial education, NEFE continues their legacy of strengthening action-oriented research agendas, mobilizing intermediaries, and creating better solutions for researchers, educators, practitioners and policymakers. They facilitate rigorous financial literacy and behavioral research, convene experts on various personal finance topics, and comment and engage in national public policy efforts.

Aligned in these conversations has been FPP Coalition, who is honored to have NEFE as a partner and supporter of the Coalition and its mission – To Elevate Financial Capability for All.

Their Role:

Experts – With more than 30 years leveraging a legacy of dedication to the advancement of financial education, NEFE uses their experience, analysis and insights to provide guidance and support for the future of the financial education field.

Unifiers – NEFE recognizes the value in strengthening relationships with, and among, a broad cross section of organizations, steering collective wisdom and driving collaboration. As a unifying voice, NEFE guides the national dialogue in the spirit of maintaining momentum.

Visionaries – For the collective movement to create effective tools for improved financial well-being, NEFE is a beacon of growth, impact and change. NEFE asks the tough questions and challenges the community to reach beyond obvious answers.

Their Services:

Financial Education Policy Convenings – In January and February of 2021, NEFE partnered with the Council for Economic Education (CEE) to host five convenings focused on specific challenges in the financial education space and touched on the following policy topics:

• Financial education’s role in equitable access to post-secondary education

• Alternative approaches to financial education mandates

• What research says is effective in financial education and how to best support that with legislative dollars

• How to better support the unique needs of communities isolated from the mainstream; and

• How can we better align financial education to support the values and contexts of diverse communities?

At the FPP Coalition 2022 Sixth Annual Virtual Conference, NEFE’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Raven Newberry will highlight major themes from those conversations and invite input from participants on that could position the field to ensure Americans have the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to live their best financial life. For more information on these Convenings, check out NEFE’s event summaries.

Evaluation 101 – While examination on the effectiveness of financial education has many factors to consider, NEFE has taken measures to improve evaluation studies—for both practitioners and researchers.

Continuously seeking information on the impact of a program or educational session is imperative. Well-designed evaluations tell instructors whether and how they are improving behavior, knowledge and confidence of learners, and where improvements need to be made. Without evaluation, or by using ineffective tools, instructors rely on anecdotes to inform their work and evaluators miss opportunities to measure multiple aspects of a program. A more comprehensive assessment can show where immediate improvements can be made, and which areas of success can be capitalized.

Personal Finance Ecosystem – The purpose of the Personal Finance Ecosystem is to:

• Lay out the foundations that underpin an individual’s level of financial well-being

• Give context to the elements that comprise and influence financial well-being

• Set rightsized expectations for what educational and behavioral influences, interventions and efforts realistically can achieve

Research – NEFE advances effective financial education and financial well-being by supporting rigorous research and facilitating community dialogue. They fund research that makes a profound contribution to the field of financial education and seeks to improve the public’s financial well-being. They are an open and engaged funder that inspires collaboration and community in addition to providing money.

Upcoming Events: On February 4th, 2022 from 9am – 11:30am EST, NEFE and FPP will be partnering to bring the FPP Coalition 2022 Sixth Annual Online Conference “Retreat. Reconnect. Retool. Rejuvenate. Renew. Resurge!”

As a Financial Capability practitioner, individuals likely need, and certainly deserve, to:

• Retreat from the sometimes-frantic pace of serving others in a pandemic crisis;

• Reconnect with FPP Coalition Financial Capability peers from a broad variety of professional backgrounds and roles;

• Retool by tapping into the insights of leading-edge Guest Experts who will share in meaningful learning dialogue with Online Conference participants;

• Rejuvenate your head, heart, hands and spirit with relevant professional development to support your serving others at your best;

• Renew your commitment to the FPP Coalition Mission – To Elevate Financial Capability for All;

• Resurge from your engagement with peers and experts to support others as they move through the Financial Capability Continuum from Financial Crisis, to Stability and Security, on to Well-Being and Prosperity!

NEFE’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Raven Newberry will highlight major themes from NEFE’s 2021 Convenings, and invite input from participants on that could position the field to ensure Americans have the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to live their best financial life. To find out more information, or to register and join NEFE and FPP Coalition on February 4th, please visit FPP’s Event Registration Page for details.

If you’d like to explore more information about NEFE or the impact they generate, please visit NEFE’s webpage. FPP Coalition is honored to serve the various partner and member organizations that comprise the Coalition, and with that service elevate awareness to all of the resources and community contributors such as NEFE available within and beyond Florida.