Closing the Wealth Gap through Financial Literacy

Over the past 50 years, even with purported gains for Black Americans after the civil rights movement, the racial wealth gap has continued to widen. White Americans currently own 10 times the wealth of Black Americans. It’s clear that the wealth gap is actually becoming a wealth chasm. 

As part of Deutsche Bank’s Born to Be youth engagement program, we are proud to partner with the Goalsetter Foundation to address this disparity head-on. Goalsetter is singularly focused on preparing the next generation of Black youth to understand and grow wealth in order to help close the gap.

Research shows that children with savings accounts are six times more likely to go to college. With grant support from Deutsche Bank, Goalsetter is helping children pave a path to financial freedom, providing savings accounts and fun, game-based, culturally relevant financial literacy. Children from Kindergarten through 12th grade receive free access to the Goalsetter app, a social savings tool that teaches them healthy savings habits, delayed gratification, goal-orientation, and financial concepts critical to understanding, building and preserving wealth. 

Deutsche Bank’s grant, made in May 2021, provides start-up savings and five years of access to Goalsetter’s financial literacy programming for 1000 students in Brooklyn and Staten Island’s Eagle Academy. These students from LMI backgrounds receive savings accounts, each with a seed deposit of $40 per account, alongside personalized education and engaging presentations.  A signature program is “Building Wealth: A 4-Part Miniseries Inspired by Jay Z”, which features quotes and lyrics from Jay Z’s songs, and showcases financially successful Black entrepreneurs and business people.

Children in the program learn that they are worthy of wealth, and start building healthy savings habits that will shape their futures. Goalsetter’s program shows that from East New York to East Oakland, and for every community in between, kids can pave a path to financial freedom.

The partnership supports the goals of Deutsche Bank’s Born to Be youth engagement program, which unlocks the potential of the next generation by breaking down barriers to opportunity and supporting inclusive and innovative educational environments for all.