“We started SecureFutures because kids across our state were graduating without a clue how to manage money,” says Brenda Campbell, president and CEO of SecureFutures. “Parents thought schools were doing it and schools thought parents were doing it.”
In 2006 Lloyd Levin, a mortgage broker, founded the organization, frustrated at having to turn away families due to low credit scores or bad credit. He saw the tremendous need for financial education and a way to make a difference. He and Campbell partnered with Milwaukee Public Schools, where they trained community volunteers to teach the organization’s Money Sense curriculum. This financial fundamentals program introduces teens to basics like banking, creating a savings plan, managing a budget and maintaining healthy credit.
Five years ago, SecureFutures launched Money Path, a web-based application that connects the dots between a student’s post-high school plan and their financial future. Money Path helps teens explore and compare different college and career paths, calculate costs, and learn how to budget and save for long-term goals while reinforcing personal finance concepts for increased confidence and transitioning into adulthood. “We believe strongly that every teen in the nation should have this tool,” says Campbell. “We have our sights set on nationwide expansion.”
SecureFutures’ financial mentoring program, Money Coach, has helped students like Amanda Jenkins, who participated when she was 17 years old. Working with a money coach, she established her first bank account, learned to track spending and create a budget, improve her credit score, and put $1,000 into savings within a year. “I try to advocate for this program as much as I can,” says Jenkins, who is now enrolled at UWM studying criminal justice and working as a paralegal. “If I could shout this program to the stars, I would totally do it. It’s free, and it’s something that high school doesn’t teach us.”
SecureFutures is 100% privately funded, providing programming at no cost to high schools and community organizations, thanks to volunteers and generous supporters. “We raise every dollar it takes to deliver these programs,” says Campbell. A $250 donation, for example, provides Money Sense lessons for five students, while $350 funds a Money Coach scholarship for one student. These programs don’t happen without volunteers, for which there is a continued need. SecureFutures provides volunteers with all necessary training and resources.
What We Do
- SecureFutures, founded in 2006, is committed to equipping teens and young adults with vital money management skills, tools, and mentoring to achieve financial capability, reach their goals, and strengthen their communities.
- SecureFutures impacts the lives of over 112,000 teens through free financial education and coaching programs. The organization’s Money Sense, Money Coach and Money Path programs serve teens and young adults, often from under-resourced communities, with the financial education, tech-based tools, and personalized mentorship they need to create financially secure lives.
Where Your Money Goes
- SecureFutures is 100% privately funded, providing programming at no cost to high schools and community-based organizations, thanks to dedicated volunteers and generous supporters. Donations help provide these free programs.
In partnership with U.S. Bank
SecureFutures
710 N. PLANKINTON AVE., SUITE 1400 | 414-273-8101
