FinTech News
Robinhood Sets 1 Million Student Financial Education Goal
The investment app has announced a new initiative to encourage financial education in the classroom.
About Robinhood’s Financial Education Goal:
This week (on Tax Day, incidentally), Robinhood revealed its pledge to reach one million people with classroom-based financial education programs by 2023. The announcement was made at the second annual Financial Education Summit in Washington D.C. According to the company, it plans to reach a range of people from grade school to college students, as well as a variety of groups, including professional athletes, community leaders, and non-profit partners.
Currently, Robinhood’s flagship financial education program is called Money Drills and has partnerships with 18 universities nationwide. The latest institutions to join the list include the University of Arizona, Boise State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Money Drill courses not only provide students with financial literacy tools but also provide academic credit. Later this year, Robinhood also plans to introduce a new segment called Money Drills: Readiness, which is specifically built to reach members of the armed forces and will help prepare them for their return to civilian status.
Beyond the classroom, Robinhood does provide financial education resources to users (and non-users). On the Robinhood Learn site, content covering investing basics to the latest topics — such as prediction markets — are covered. Many of these segments are also available in the Robinhood app.
What They’re Saying:
Announcing the million-person initiative, Robinhood Markets’ Senior Director of International Government and External Affairs Chloe Barz stated, “Accessible financial education has always been at the heart of Robinhood’s mission, but today we are significantly accelerating our reach. We’re proud to announce our commitment to reach one million people with financial education through classroom-based programming by 2030.”
Barz continued, “This pledge, which scales our existing programming and introduces new efforts, helps us reach more people where they are with tailored learning opportunities. By complementing our existing digital education resources for both new and experienced investors, we can build collective knowledge and help the next generation move forward with financial confidence.”
My Thoughts:
To be honest, for as much as I follow Robinhood news, I had no idea that they partnered with 18 universities on financial literacy courses. With that context, I’m excited to see how the company is able to achieve this new goal they have for the next four years. While there’s no doubt that the move is self-serving (both in terms of good press and promotion), I do think there’s a chance to do a lot of good as well.