Everywhere you look, teachers are doing more with less. From creating kindness cash to rewarding good behavior to running mock stores where students learn to budget, they're finding creative ways to make money lessons stick.
Financial literacy is a critical component of a child's education that benefits them now and in the future. In fact, in the 2024 Survey of the States, the Council for Economic Education found 35 states require students to take a course in personal finance to graduate. But teaching financial literacy takes time, training and classroom resources — and many educators pay for those out of their own pockets.
That's why Synchrony, a leading consumer financing company, has launched its Empowering Financial Futures grant program. This $1 million commitment over two years will help adequately prepare and support K-12 public school teachers nationwide who teach personal finance.
Whether you're a teacher who needs financial education resources or a community member interested in supporting teachers in your area, here are three education nonprofits that have partnered with Synchrony that can help.
The Council for Economic Education (CEE) is dedicated to changing the status quo by equipping K-12 students with tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics. Through this support, CEE envisions a future where students make better decisions for themselves, their families and their communities through financial literacy.
Through CEE, teachers can access free classroom resources and training initiatives, including professional development and the launch of a new personal finance course for teachers. CEE also holds an annual Financial Literacy & Economic Education Conference for teachers.
Synchrony teacher tip: Keep your eye out for CEE's new personal finance course designed specifically for teachers, coming at the end of December.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, so that every student in every community has the resources for a great education. Since 2000, the education nonprofit has supported 986,112 teachers from 92,248 schools nationwide, raising $1.8 billion with the help of more than 6.6 million donors.
Through their partnership, Synchrony matched $250,000 in donations to fund public school teachers' requests for financial literacy resources on the nonprofit's website. The result: real supplies in the hands of teachers, no matter the grade level. To get started funding your classroom's financial literacy needs, click here.
Synchrony teacher tip: Register your DonorsChoose project and share it on social media to help raise awareness and reach your funding goal.
Founded in 1995, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has gathered over 100 national partners and 50 state affiliates to work collectively and collaboratively to advance financial literacy among the nation's youth. The nonprofit focuses its efforts on preschool through college-age students, prioritizing those who are less advantaged.
The coalition uses funds from donors — like Synchrony — to provide teacher-training initiatives. These initiatives include their annual National Educator Conference, as well as financial education programs for teachers, parents and students.
Teachers can visit the nonprofit's website to access educator resources and learn how to bring financial education to their students.
Synchrony teacher tip: Register early for the 2026 National Educator Conference. All teachers interested in attending must apply for scholarships, with applications opening in early 2026 and closing around back-to-school time. Click here for application criteria to get ahead of next year's conference deadline.
Through its Empowering Financial Futures program, Synchrony wants to promote economic mobility and opportunity by supporting teachers with training, classroom resources and funding to advance personal finance education.
Learn more about how Synchrony is supporting teachers to empower the next generation at creditbuilders.syf.com.
