How The Program Works

College students volunteer their time to teach high school students about investing and give them real money to invest

College student volunteers enroll local high school students

​​

We select high school students from underserved areas based on a combination of need and demonstrated interest in economics and investing

​

Students commit to complete an 8-week course and to graduate high school
 

Volunteers deliver interactive lessons about investing

Topics include

• What is a stock?

• Compounding interest

• Volatility and diversification

• Mutual funds and ETFs

• Dollar-cost averaging 

Students choose their investments using real funds provided by donors

​

Generous donors provide funds to FGI for our students to invest

​

Beginning in the third session, students are granted $50/week.  They allocate their funds across a set of mutual funds, in order to ensure a diverse portfolio 

Vesting

How The Students Access Their Investments

Students learn the notion of "vesting," whereby they earn the right to withdraw funds by meeting three criteria:​

1. Complete the FGI program (attending at least 6 sessions)

2. Graduate high school

3. Turn 18 years of age

​Once they meet all three criteria, volunteers work with students to create their own investment accounts and transfer to them all of their investments. 

A Typical FGI Session

A typical FGI session consists of the following:

1. Volunteers and students discuss the past week’s financial news

2. Volunteers break into groups of 4 students each, and teach a new concept, like compounding interest or dollar-cost averaging

3. Students are granted $50 to invest