GenFKD Expands Financial Literacy Program To 25 Total Campuses

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GenFKD, or "Generational Financial Knowledge Development" expanded its mission of bringing financial literacy to college students on 15 new college and university campuses for the 2014-15 academic year. The additions raise to 25 the number of active campuses hosting GenFKD Fellowship programs.

GenFKD, the inaugural campaign of the 501(c)(3) organization Young America, is an educational initiative dedicated to providing 18-24 year old "Millennials" – a group facing record unemployment and a growing experience gap – with the tools and resources required to succeed in today's economy.

The organization launched in August 2013 and has successfully established student chapters on 10 college campuses throughout Virginia and Florida. GenFKD student leaders, or "Fellows" engage their peers in a variety of personal finance and economic policy-related topics and grow a self-sustaining community on their respective campuses.

"The volume of positive feedback that we've received shows how much college students want to better understand the world of jobs, careers and economic policy," said Jesse Jacobs, Young America's Executive Director. "Millennials are looking to learn how much it will cost them to live on their own — that's more than a classroom can provide."

Some colleges offer financial education resources through on-campus career centers and other programs, but many do not. The few that do often fail to make them relatable to their students: an oversight that GenFKD has sought to fix.

"Young people tend to pay closer attention to learning complicated concepts if they're presented in a visually engaging, entertaining and fun way with an edgy approach," said Jacobs. "That's what we do: connect young people with difficult but critical information and fun educational resources in a way that encourages them to stay connected.  We help them understand that economic policy matters to them."

The organization believes that the lack of generational participation stems from an unreasonably high barrier of entry when it comes to understanding economic policy.

"At no time in our history have 18-24 year-olds faced such obstacles," said Justin Dent, the organization's co-founder and Policy Director.  "Facing a stagnant job market and already overwhelmed with student debt, today's college graduates need every advantage just to match the success of previous generations."

GenFKD's website and social media channels explain complicated issues in more approachable ways, offer job searching and career advancement tips and provide interactive tools to help these Millennials understand the real-world costs of living as they enter the workforce.  

GenFKD is now operating on the following campuses led by YA Fellows:

• The College of William and Mary, Brian Garland
• Colorado State University, Chris Vanjonack
• Duke University, Keegan Cotton
• Florida State University, Kevin Gomez
• George Mason University, David Roth
• James Madison University, Annie Moncure
• Miami University, Veronica Roscoe
• North Carolina State University, Alex Hardesty
• Ohio University, Anthony Piccioni
• The University of Akron, Vadic Patel
• The University of Central Florida, Joseph Charles
• The University of Cincinnati, Cory Murphy
• The University of Colorado, Denver, Brittany Westerfield
• The University of Florida, Isabelle Sawhney
• The University of Miami, Bernie Turi
• The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Brittany Throckmorton
• The University of Nevada, Reno, Fellow: Lynn Lazaro
• The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Brandon Napier
• The University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Christian Prather
• The University of South Florida, Eli Zucker and Isabella Castrillon
• The University of Virginia, Shane Matthews
• Virginia Tech, Meredith Colonna

GenFKD is currently recruiting additional Fellows  at the University of Dayton, University of Colorado-Boulder, and University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

SOURCE Young America