The community of teachers who use resources from financial education nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) hit a milestone of 100,000 members this week. 

NGPF’s mission is to guarantee that, by 2030, all high school students receive a personal finance course prior to graduating. The organization produces high-quality, engaging personal finance curriculum and professional development at no cost to educators. Next month, NGPF will celebrate its tenth anniversary.

“The growth in educators seeking personal finance resources for their classroom reflects the increase in support from advocates and policymakers across the country who want to ensure high schoolers graduate with a foundational understanding of how to navigate their finances,” said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of NGPF. 

Demand for NGPF’s resources has mirrored the proliferation in state policies guaranteeing a Personal Finance course. In 2020, only eight states guaranteed a personal finance course to all public high school students. At the end of 2023, 25 states had enacted laws. 

NGPF teacher accounts more than tripled in the last four years. At the end of June 2020, NGPF had nearly 33,000 account users. Now, at least 84% of students attend a U.S. high school where a teacher has an NGPF account.

“As a former high school teacher and principal, one of my favorite things about personal finance education is that students want to learn it,” said Jessica Endlich, co-founder of NGPF. “They see the immediate connection to their lives, they can share the knowledge with their friends and family, and they’re truly motivated to engage with the materials. That’s a win for any school or community.” 

According to a survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education, more than 88 percent of adults support requiring financial education in high school. 

“As an early adopter of NGPF resources, the collaborative community fueled my professional growth, inspiring me to continuously innovate in my classroom and improve my own content knowledge,” said Amanda Volz, the first teacher to create an NGPF account, who now works as NGPF’s Director of Professional Development. “This led to transformative learning experiences for my students as they benefited from the high-quality NGPF resources that have been, and always will be, free for everyone.” 

Of the teachers with NGPF accounts, 37 percent identified as personal finance teachers, 20 percent as math teachers, nine percent as Economics and eight percent as Career Prep.

“I recall the initial days with NGPF vividly. It was astonishing to discover a company offering such a wealth of pertinent content for my students completely free of charge,” said Brenda Martin-Lee, Business Educator at Seneca High School in N.J., who was the second teacher account with NGPF. “As time passed, I gradually incorporated the majority of these excellent resources into my Personal Finance classes.” 

Research has clearly demonstrated that a Personal Finance course improves long-term financial decision-making and positively impacts student debt decisions and credit scores, helps graduates avoid predatory lenders, helps to increase savings rates among teachers, and even generates positive spillover effects on parents.

“I simply can't say enough about the positive impact NGPF has had on my life. It goes far beyond the curriculum, the professional development, our Fellows group, scholarships, and the advocacy,” said Jacqueline Collins, a business educator at Mansfield High School in Mansfield, Mass. “NGPF built a community of amazing, like-minded colleagues that I speak with each day, whether through FinLit Fanatics or in our FinLitFam text group. It's priceless!” Collins was the fourth teacher to create an account with NGPF. 

A recent report from Tyton Partners found that taking a one-semester course in personal finance results in an average per-student lifetime benefit of approximately $100,000. The report also found the cost of implementing a standalone course can be kept low given the availability of high-quality curricular resources and teacher professional development made available by providers at no or minimal cost.

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.