A Publication of

Nefe DigestSeptember/October 2006

Beck added. “But there is still a lot ofwork to be done. With the renewal of our organizations’ long-standingpartnership and commitment to ourcountry’s youth, we hope to extend sig-nificantly the success of the NEFE HighSchool Financial Planning Program.”

The High School Financial PlanningProgram is a six-unit curriculum thatteaches the basics of money manage-ment to young people at a time whenthey are developing habits and attitudesabout personal finance that will influ-ence them for the rest of their lives.This practical program is available atno cost to all high schools throughoutthe country. In addition to activelypromoting the HSFPP to local schooldistricts throughout the nation, CSREESalso has played a vital role in curriculumdevelopment, evaluation, and trainingof thousands of educators in how toteach the HSFPP. The Credit UnionNational Association (CUNA), andAmerica’s Credit Unions, also partnerwith NEFE and CSREES in makingthe HSFPP available to young people.

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InsideThree New Fellows Join NEFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

NEFE Collaborates with Goodwill to Create Versatile Financial Education Booklet . . . . . Page 3

The National Endowment forFinancial Education® (NEFE®)and the Cooperative State

Research, Education, and ExtensionService (CSREES), USDA, haveextended their partnership to promotefinancial education among America’syouth. With the signing of a new five-year agreement, NEFE and CSREES,the federal partner in the nationwideCooperative Extension System, begintheir 15th year of providing the NEFEHigh School Financial PlanningProgram® (HSFPP) to thousands ofschools throughout the U.S.

“We are extremely pleased to con-tinue our work with the CooperativeExtension Service to improve thefinancial well-being of young adultsthroughout America,” said Ted Beck,president and CEO of NEFE. “Thisrelationship is one of the best exam-ples of a successful partnership in the financial services industry.

“The NEFE-CSREES alliance has proveninvaluable in teaching teens the skillsthey need to manage money wisely,”

Organizations Renew Longstanding Partnership

A Publication of the National Endowment for Financial Education

NEFE, CSREES Continue to Advance Youth Financial Education

2 NEFE Digest - September/October 2006

The National Endowment forFinancial Education has accept-ed three recent college gradu-

ates into its ongoing fellows program.Katherine Bastian, Ayelet Drori, andSadie Sullivan each were awarded two-year fellowships, during which theywill gain experience in nonprofit man-agement and personal finance. Bastianhas been assigned to the NEFE HighSchool Financial Planning Program(HSFPP) department, Drori will assistin the Communications department,and Sullivan will work in the GrantsAdministration department.

Bastian joins NEFE from Texas, whereshe graduated with a bachelor’s degreein agricultural development and aminor in agricultural economics fromTexas A&M University. She also hasreceived her master’s degree in familyand consumer sciences educationfrom Texas Tech University.

While in Texas, Bastian completed aninternship with the Texas CooperativeExtension, for which she planned,implemented, and evaluated educa-tional programs. She used componentsof the HSFPP in one program.

“As a former user of the NEFE HighSchool Program curriculum, I believethat my comments and suggestionswill be valuable during the currentrevision process and beyond,” explainedBastian. “Understanding both theCooperative Extension system andinstructional strategies will allow meto better identify with the needs ofcounty Extension agents, educators,and students. This also will be usefulwhen training professionals to use the revised High School FinancialPlanning Program.”

Bastian looks forward to taking theCertified Financial Planner® exam in2008 and obtaining a certificate infamily financial planning from IowaState University. She hopes to usethese in her future nonprofit career.

As a NEFE fellow, Bastian will promoteand help maintain the High SchoolFinancial Planning Program and theNEFE High School Campus Webportal. She also will offer supportduring HSFPP trainings, workshops,conferences, and exhibits.

Drori recently graduated with honorsfrom the University of Minnesota,where she earned a bachelor’s degreein strategic communications. She alsohas a minor in Spanish and studied inMadrid for an academic year. Droriinvolved herself in various student

with the media and financial literacyprofessionals, she also will assist withthe production of printed materials,development of special projects, andexpansion of the pro bono financialplanning program coordinated by NEFE.

Sullivan graduated from GrinnellCollege in Iowa with a bachelor’sdegree in religious studies, a programfor which she served as the studentcommittee chair. Her work as a liaisonbetween the religious studies majorsand faculty members provided herwith valuable leadership skills and

From left toright, SadieSullivan, Ayelet Drori and KatherineBastian.

Three New Fellows Join NEFE

organizations in Minnesota and alsointerned in the public relations depart-ment of Camp Heartland, a nonprofitorganization that offers life enhance-ment programs for children affectedby HIV/AIDS. That volunteer workignited her interest in working furtherwith a nonprofit organization.

“The work that I will be doing atNEFE is the best of both worlds forme. I can help people understand thefreedom that comes with a strongfinancial education while I develop myprofessional skills in communicationand management,” said Drori.

During her fellowship, Drori will beresponsible for numerous ongoingcommunications projects, such asmanagement of the NEFE Digest,preparation and distribution of pressreleases and personal finance articles,and updating and enhancing severalWeb sites. In addition to interactions

team experience. Sullivan also wasinvolved in working with a local domes-tic abuse center in Iowa. In addition,she interned at the Colorado PublicInterest Research Group, where shehoned her advocacy and research skills.After college, Sullivan taught Englishin Kyrgyztan through the Peace Corps.

“Working at NEFE appealed to mebecause I admire the organization’sobjectives to educate Americans onprudent financial management,”explained Sullivan. She says she looks forward to a possible career in public health and law following thecompletion of her fellowship.

During her time at NEFE, Sullivan willbe introduced to all facets of grantsadministration, from the review of appli-cations through the management ofprojects. She also will work on specialprojects, such as coordinating think tanks.

Continued on page 4

The National Endowment forFinancial Education recentlycollaborated with Goodwill

Industries and Bank of America tocreate Building Financial Stability andStrength, a 64-page financial educationbooklet aimed at helping Goodwillclients achieve financially stable lives.

Goodwill Industries strives to helppeople confronting disabilities, welfaredependency, the lack of a high schooldegree, poor work history, and otherchallenges find and keep good jobsand achieve economic self-sufficiency.The organization collaborated withNEFE and Bank of America to provideits clients with financial education sothese individuals may begin achievingtheir lifelong goals.

Building Financial Stability and Strengthaims to help all Goodwill clients, fromdisabled individuals to people onwelfare. Clients range in age from 16to 65, so the material presented is

NEFE Digest - September/October 2006 3NEFE Digest - September/October 2006

NEFE Collaborates with Goodwill to Create VersatileFinancial Education Booklet

broad in focus. It touches on basicfinancial topics, such as goal setting,budgeting, spending, banking,borrowing money, and investing.

While the information is broad-based,clients—who often complete thebooklet in a Goodwill training lab withthe guidance of an instructor—canpersonalize the information by filling

side, gives the booklet the feel of apersonal workbook.”

Throughout Building Financial Stabilityand Strength, photos of people of allbackgrounds, representing the diversityof Goodwill clients, are included.Encouraging words that describe theclients, such as honest, inspired, andconfident, pepper the pages, as well.

Continued from page 1

A nationwide evaluation of the programcompleted in 1998, and repeated in2003, found that the HSFPP is highlyeffective in improving the personalfinance knowledge, behavior, andconfidence of teens. Upon completingthe curriculum, students reported anincrease of 60 percent in their knowl-edge of key areas covered by theHSFPP. The evaluation also found thatparticipants better understood finan-cial behaviors and were more confidentin making money managementdecisions compared to their feelingsprior to working with the NEFE HighSchool Program.

“Since 1991, measurable behaviorchange by students has sustained thepartnership between NEFE and theCSREES to revise, deliver, and evaluate

the HSFPP,” said Jane Schuchardt,national program leader in CSREES'sEconomic and Community Systemsunit. “Major national partnerships arecritical for scaling up demand amonglocal teachers and other youth-servingprofessionals to ensure that youngpeople learn how to manage themoney they earn.”

Since the inception of the NEFE HighSchool Financial Planning Program,more than 4.4 million workbooks havebeen requested by and distributed inschools across all 50 states. In 2005alone, more than 630,000 studentguides were circulated to schoolsthroughout the country.

“This partnership has been a key factorin growing the HSFPP into its positionas a leader in financial education forteens,” said John Parfrey, director of

the NEFE High School FinancialPlanning Program. “CSREES’s deepstrengths in the areas of research andeducation, along with their strongcommitment to financial literacy for allAmericans, align them perfectly withNEFE’s own mission. Because of this,millions of high school students aremuch better positioned to develop astronger financial future.”

The HSFPP is currently undergoing arevision scheduled to be completed in2007. While continuing to provide aninstructor’s manual and student guidein printed form, the updated programalso will offer a robust Web-based com-ponent containing additional tools, con-tent, and learning experiences for bothstudents and teachers. For more infor-mation, visit www.nefe.org and clickon the Education Programs section.

NEFE, CSREES Continue to Advance Youth Financial Education

“Goodwill has been focused for a long time on providing a holisticapproach to helping disadvantaged individuals gain independence”

Eric Olson

out the numerous worksheets includ-ed throughout the guide.

“Whether they are articulating theirlong-term goals or creating their firstspending plan, clients are able to useBuilding Financial Stability and Strengthas their own, individual workbook,”says Brent Neiser, CFP®, director ofNEFE Collaborative Programs. “Eventhe design, which includes the imageof spiral binding on the left-hand

About 13,000 copies of the booklet ini-tially were printed and distributed toGoodwill agencies nationwide. NEFEalso collaborated to complete a facilita-tor’s guide that can be used by instruc-tors teaching the material. In addition,Goodwill recently worked with Bankof America to develop a Spanish versionof the booklet and print additionalcopies of the English version.

Continued on page 4

4 NEFE Digest - September/October 2006

5299 DTC BoulevardSuite 1300Greenwood Village, CO 80111-3334

© September 2006, National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). All rights reserved. NEFE Digest, NEFE Press, NEFE Financial Literacy Resource Center, NEFE HIGH SCHOOL FINANCIAL PLANNING PROGRAM, and NEFE TEENRESOURCE BUREAU are service marks of the National Endowment for Financial Education. Certified Financial Plannerand CFP are marks of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.All questions regarding NEFE Digest may be addressed to the Communications department, Editor: Ayelet Drori.NEFE is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. The main telephone number is (303) 741-6333; the fax number is (303) 220-0838. Visit the NEFE Web site at www.nefe.org.

NEFE Digest is published bimonthly by the National Endowment for Financial Education, 5299 DTC Boulevard, Suite 1300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111-3334.

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Continued from page 3

“Goodwill has been focused for a longtime on providing a holistic approachto helping disadvantaged individualsgain independence,” says Eric Olson,director of Workforce Developmentfor Goodwill Industries International.“We recognize that financial stabilityis an integral part of helping our clientsgrow and achieve their economic goals.For this reason, the NEFE bookletdovetails well with our current services.”

Goodwill Industries, a 501(c)(3) organ-ization comprised of 205 autonomous,community-based agencies in theU.S., Canada, and 22 other countries,provides workforce development and career services to people with

NEFE Collaborates with Goodwilldisabilities and other barriers to work.For more information, log on towww.goodwill.org.

Bank of America is one of the world’sleading financial services companies,devoted to offering new and betterways to manage finances. More infor-mation is available on the firm’s Website, located at www.bankofamerica.com.

For more information about NEFE’sCollaborative Programs, log on towww.nefe.org.

Holiday ClosingsNEFE will be closed September 4for Labor Day.

Continued from page 2

The NEFE Fellows Program was estab-lished in 1999 to attract intelligent andtalented young people to the nonprofitsector and the field of personal finance.The program is open to recent collegegraduates with a strong academicrecord, experience working in theircommunity, and an interest in personalfinance. During their two-year stay,fellows gain experience in nonprofitoperations and management by work-ing on a broad range of NEFE projects.

To find out more about the NEFEFellows Program, visit www.nefe.organd click on Innovative Thinking. You also may contact Dave Kaus at(303) 224-3503 or djk@nefe.org.

New Fellows