In America today, too many people reach adulthood with no savings and no basic personal finance knowledge. Roughly half of U.S. households have no retirement account, and millions have little to no emergency savings. Without the habit of savings or understanding of how to grow their money, many families live paycheck to paycheck: one setback away from crisis. This directly limits their mobility, resilience, happiness, and long-term opportunity.

Teen Navigate was born from seeing that reality up close. During my freshmen year in high school, I spent my summer working alongside children at MLK Junior Academy, a K-8 school in Marin City. Marin City is a community in Marin County, California that was originally developed during World War II to house African-American workers when segregation and redlining restricted where families could live. Today, Marin County sits just miles from some of the wealthiest towns in the country, yet faces extremely different circumstances. The median household income is roughly 50% less than the county average, poverty rates are several times higher, and many students grow up without exposure to basic financial tools that are taken for granted elsewhere.

That summer made one thing clear: the children I met were capable, curious, and motivated. They lacked nothing besides the access to opportunities. I created Teen Navigate to close that gap. Teen Navigate teaches students the basics of financial topics, exposes students to successful career pathways shown by experts, and challenges them to apply the knowledge they consume in a scholarship competition. The students who demonstrate the strongest
reasoning don’t just earn scholarship funds, but open gateways for future opportunities.

This work depends on donors who believe financial capability should not be determined by tax bracket. Your contribution directly funds scholarships and expands access to financial education for students who would otherwise be left out. The cost of one semester at SF State is roughly $2,500, UC Davis is $5,000, UC Berkeley is $7,500, and Yale is $35,000. The cost of learning is increasing every year, making a college education more out of reach for the average American.
 

The size of each award grows with the generosity of supporters who choose to invest in this cycle of learning and giving. We invite you to help fund the next scholarship, support the next generation of students, and be part of a model that promotes financial literacy and turns education into opportunity.