AFSA Education Foundation (AFSAEF) in Action
The AFSA Education Foundation is celebrating a milestone event this year, its 35th anniversary and thanks to the generosity of AFSA member representatives giving their time and financial resources annually and to establish an endowment, the AFSAEF has been at the forefront of financial education. The highly regarded personal finance curriculum, MoneySKILL® remains a flagship effort with 1.5 million students and teachers having enrolled to use the digital curriculum and complementary resources since the program launched in 2002.
Promotion of MoneySKILL is one of the main focuses of the AFSA Education Foundation’s Strategic Plan and staff started 2025 raising awareness of MoneySKILL with two important audiences. On January 16, Executive Director Rhonda Ashburn presented to members of the Financial Education Directors Caucus within the National Association of State Treasurers. NAST serves as the nation’s foremost authority for responsible state treasury programs and related financial practices, policies, and education. The caucus membership is made up of close to 70 treasury and state agency staff with almost every state represented.
On January 17, AFSAEF Director of Financial Education and Outreach Olivia DiBiase presented to state and local advisers of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. FCCLA is a national Career and Technical Student Organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences education in public and private schools. With over 244,000 student members and more than 7,300 chapter advisers across 5,300 chapters, FCCLA offers members the Financial Fitness program engaging them in teaching one another how to earn, spend, save, and protect money wisely. MoneySKILL dovetails well with the Financial Fitness program.
During the AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference in New Orleans, January 20-23, AFSA Foundation Board of Directors Vice Chair and Ally Financial Executive Director of Marketing – Dealer Financial Services & Communications Kathy Ruble, spoke on Tuesday, January 21 to conference delegates updating the vehicle finance industry leaders on the work of the AFSA Education Foundation. She highlighted MoneySKILL marketing efforts in 2024 which included outreach to over 90,000 educators and administrators across the United States, social media campaigns geared to educators with over 2.5 million user impressions, and a 21% increase in followers.
The AFSA Education Foundation remains a leader in the financial education arena. Through collaboration with the AFSA membership and other strategic partnerships in both the non-profit and for-profit arenas, MoneySKILL will remain a valued resource to improve the financial skills of consumers for many years to come.
January 22nd, 2025
