Improving Financial Awareness & Literacy

Globally we have a collection of serious social, healthcare, environmental, economic & political challenges resulting in significant poverty, coupled with lack of financial awareness, resulting in a financial illiteracy epidemic. Solving this critical life skill serves as the catalyst, to significantly advance ‘digital inclusion’ and so much more.

Most people aren’t taught the essential principles to smart money in home nor school, placing HUGE pressures on families, friends, employers, nonprofits along with the ultimate safetynet - governments.

A decade ago we launched The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement to touch everyone twice a year, now grow within 7 countries. http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TheMovementWorldWide.pdf)

We’re working on digitizing developed content into the FAL-App empowering more people to make better informed lifelong money decisions, giving them the best probability of living successful lives, while passing on values, knowledge, and assets to future generations and charitable causes, making this a better world.

We're working to significantly improve financial awareness while curing the financial illiteracy epidemic worldwide that’s touching 8 billion people - poor to rich.

Our work began over a decade ago in the USA; in 2018 The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement expanded into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; this will touch ~ 150 million people. In 2020 we began Movements in Ghana, Brazil, and India. The Movement is now advancing within 7 countries over 4 continents. See link for additional country statistics.

http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TheMovementWorldWide.pdf

Regardless of where we grew up and live - rich, modest wealth, or poor country - most people are not taught at home nor in school the essential principles to smart money – the foundation to personal finance knowledge. Thus they don’t have the proper tools to address everyday money decisions in an informed manner. This jeopardizes their

• Financial and physical wellness
• Ability to realistically achieve and maintain their personal and family financial dreams
• Let alone enjoy a financially successful future.

We strongly believe  improving financial awareness & financial literacy can significantly advance digital inclusion while having a major positive impact on

• Improving healthcare
• Education
• Food supply
• Economic empowerment & jobs
• Reducing violence & promoting peace

Wouldn’t it be great if there's a real solution to this financial illiteracy epidemic? We strongly believe there is, it revolves around better educating We The PEOPLE - the general public – rich to poor, educators, financial service and nonprofit professionals to the essential principles to smart money management – the foundation to Personal Finance Knowledge - while motivating them to get and keep their financial house in order.

In Phase 1 we launched The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement noted above.

In Phase 2 we expanded The Movement, while developing and advancing strategic relationships; establishing the first The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Centers at prestigious universities worldwide.

Now in Phase 3, we are working on effective ways to share the essential principles of smart money – the foundation of personal finance knowledge. We have accomplished this in print, classes / presentations, and are now working on an eLearning application to touch, educate in an entertaining manner, and interactively guide more people, into making better informed personal finance decisions, while delivering to them a universally accepted personal financial plan.

This leads us to …

The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy App (FAL-App)

Describe the target population whose lives you are working to directly and meaningfully improve.

1. Through The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement, we are working to touch everyone at least twice a year.
2. Currently, we have The Movement started within 7 countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, India, Brazil and USA
   1. We would like to expand our current touches within these countries to all  that are digitally connected, via
      • i.    The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy App (FAL-App)
   2. Secondly, help expand this digital inclusion to all with The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy App (FAL-App)

Who are they, and in what ways are they currently underserved?

1. http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TheMovementWorldWide.pdf

What are you doing to understand their needs and how are you engaging them as you develop the solution?

1. We are establishing The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Centers at key universities within each country

2. Establish The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Center at prominent universities to serves as a ‘Think Tank’ and an ‘improving financial awareness and financial literacy advocate’ for all students, faculty and staff, alumni and all The People of the country, financial service and nonprofit professionals and their organizations, educational institutions, municipalities, employers and the news media. The Research Center will

http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TFAF-Advisors-CanIncreaseYourBottomLine.pdf 

http:www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TFAF-PublicSupportfortheImprovingFinancialAwareness.pdf

How will the solution address their needs?

1. Completing The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy App (FAL-App), and getting it into the hands of The PEOPLE will help to significantly increase the rate of digital inclusion while allowing us to accelerate the growth of The Movement in participating countries and advancement into others.
2. Further, it will allow us to touch more people, and share a valuable missing life skill that will improve their quality of life, and those around them.
3. We believe that EVERYONE needs to be financially literate and empowered to make better everyday money decisions. If not how are they going to have any chance of
   • Living out a quality life
   • Reaching and maintaining their personal and family financial dreams
   • Enjoying a debt free and secure financial future
   • Passing on values, knowledge and assets to future generations and charitable causes to help make this a better world for all? 
4. As is the case now, without this empowerment, many many people become a burden on family and friends, employers, local nonprofits and the ultimate safety-net the local and national government.

We believe, to ‘most effectively’ grow digital inclusion, we should target a major underlying societal deficiency – one that requires immediate attention. We feel that a good candidate is the global financial illiteracy epidemic, this affected everyone’s quality of life.

Imagine what would happen to a small community’s economy if poverty within that community were elevated to just middle class?

What if that was a country like Kenya, with a population of 50 million?

Or a continent like Africa, with 1.4 billion?

What would happen to the global economy, if we could double the buying power of the middle class? 

The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement has been evolving and expanding over the last decade.

http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TheMovementWorldWide.pdf

The content for the The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy App (FAL-App) has been developed and successfully used in actual practice for over 25 years.

We are now working with developers to incorporate this into an eLearning application for testing through universities and NGO within 7 countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, India, Brazil and USA.

Currently, we are a core leadership team of 8 who are working part-time as volunteers within our respective organizations. 

After a successful career of pioneering the financial planning profession since the mid-1970’s, founders of TFAF, helped launch The Movement in the USA over a decade ago; global financial literacy initiatives are increasing; we are contacted regularly for assistance, content, and ideas from around the world. In 2018 we began The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement in several East African Countries. This will touch ~ 150 million people; modeled after our work in the US. In 2020 we began Movements in Ghana, Brazil, and India. We now have The Movement is developing within 7 countries and 4 continents. We also have initiated development activities and discussions for The International Improving Financial Awareness and Financial Literacy Research Centers within 12 Universities, (and growing) domestically and internationally. They are planning on taking leadership roles within the countries and communities improving financial awareness and financial literacy activities.

http://www.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/pdf/TheMovementWorldWide.pdf

We can use assistance in many of the noted areas above, both domestically and internationally and would welcome discussing this further.