WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EVERFI, Inc., the leading social impact education innovator, today announced a $100 million, three-year commitment to build new and expand current courses that address topic areas that lead to systemic social injustice and economic disparities across the country. The three-year initiative, which bolsters the company’s founding mission to close education gaps that lead to long-term inequalities, will focus on reaching students in the most at-risk, high-poverty areas of the U.S. EVERFI will offer courses in topic areas that address 12 of the most important critical life skills, in an effort to create an ecosystem of change. The Company’s large catalog of digital learning content on critical life skills is and will continue to be free to K-12 teachers and students nationwide.
“There is a missing layer in the education system today. The symphony of crises playing out across the world has cast a light on the lack of financial education, health care literacy, insurance literacy, emergency savings, and mental wellness instruction in America’s schools,” said Tom Davidson, Founder and CEO of EVERFI. “When students learn these critical life skills, they become highly-correlated competencies. When they are left unattended to, they become highly-correlated crises. This moment in time gives us a tremendous opportunity to empower students with this learning using innovation and technology. EVERFI and our partners are stepping in today to fill that gap.”
The Company will add new digital courses around 12 topic areas that pose the highest social risks, in an effort to drive meaningful and measurable societal change. As part of EVERFI’s Social Impact Index (Index), these topics include Academic Foundations; College and Career Readiness; Health care Literacy; Insurance Literacy; Retirement and Savings Literacy; Digital Wellness; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Financial Capability; Health and Mental Wellness; Next Gen Skills; Social Emotional Learning; Substance Misuse; Sustainability; Violence Prevention and Response; and Organizational Integrity. Each Index topic area provides an overview of the associated societal challenge and offers a five-year goal for EVERFI to measure impact, reach, and/or societal change. Courses within each Index topic will increase the learner’s knowledge of important subjects related to each topic, including understanding health care literacy, insurance literacy, building emergency savings and financial stability, establishing and maintaining credit, college access, understanding student loans, gaining a deeper knowledge of African American history, addressing mental health concerns, preventing prescription drug addiction, and many other areas.
Founded in 2008 with the mission of closing the educational divide that exists for children in low- to moderate-income communities, EVERFI works closely with the nation’s school districts to train teachers and provide free digital learning -- all funded solely by private sector companies and organizations -- to close the gaps that lead to social inequality. Since its founding, EVERFI digital learning has reached more than 41 million learners across the K-12, higher education, and adult markets with more than 250 digital education courses on social issues. EVERFI recognizes more than 3,100 strategic partners including some of the most recognized brands in the world, like Anti-Defamation League, Beyond Meat, Citizens, Fifth Third Bank, HSBC, LinkedIn, MassMutual, Mastercard, NFL, NHL, NHL Players’ Association, RISE, Truist, Truth Initiative, UBS, United Way Worldwide, and Zelle among many others that have joined them in fulfilling its mission of influencing social change through the power of education.
Advancing EVERFI’s existing business model of working with private entities to fund its online curriculum, the Company will partner with its family of renowned corporate supporters to finance the creation of new digital curricula and to provide teachers nationwide with professional development on these critical areas. This funding will also support the expansion of EVERFI’s proprietary digital platform, significant investments in research and development, impact analysis, along with increased reporting capabilities to school districts to measure and improve student results and knowledge gain in these critical areas.
“For more than 12 years EVERFI has cultivated powerful relationships with both educators, leading foundations, and private-sector partners aligned with our mission to equalize education on critical skills and we are grateful for their ongoing support,” said Davidson. “Now is the time for the private sector to unite with solutions that yield important societal change. EVERFI has the technical infrastructure and expertise to work in partnership with the nation’s school systems so that all students have equal access to learning that can provide them with an equal chance of success.”
To support the nation’s school systems, teachers, and families during this unprecedented time, EVERFI will continue its work reaching children in their home or hybrid learning environment with the goal of delivering more than 24 million total hours of critical life- skills learning to K-12 students over the next three years. Educational interventions for youth have shown substantive effects on social-emotional development, school progress, antisocial behavior, poverty, and crime.
“A great education is the path out of poverty for many of the students we serve and the foundation of opportunity for all of them,” said Austin Beutner, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. “The EVERFI curriculum plays an important part in the learning our schools provide to students.”
School districts that leverage EVERFI’s Index courses at scale are eligible to receive the EVERFI Champion Seal in recognition of their commitment to students’ long-term success in life.
EVERFI’s Index provides a continuum of course offerings that aim to build foundational understanding at a young age and moves on to more sophisticated and complex concepts for older learners and adults. EVERFI also delivers education in higher education and workplace settings to help build healthy and thriving college campuses and places of work.
Supporting Quotes
Ethan Brown, CEO and Founder, Beyond Meat
“At Beyond Meat, we believe there is a better way to feed our future and that the food choices we all make can have a great impact on our personal health and the health of our planet. We’re proud to support EVERFI's mission in creating lasting social change through increased education opportunities around health and sustainability. I'm excited to see this program help empower the next generation to take control over their health, their communities, and the fate of our planet."
Brendan Coughlin, Head of Consumer Banking, Citizens
“The challenges of 2020 have shown us how critical it is that we address systemic and economic inequities, including the education opportunity gap, for future generations. Citizens is proud to partner with EVERFI to help provide financial literacy and educational resources to students across the country as we seek to empower the next generation of college students and their families.”
Greg Carmichael, CEO, Fifth Third Bank
“At Fifth Third Bank, we believe all high schoolers should be prepared and educated for whatever the future may hold. The pandemic has emphasized this point and led to new realities for many Americans, including remote education. We are very proud of the work the Bank does with EVERFI to bring digital financial literacy to some of the most underserved students in the nation. Our goal is to ensure that throughout their lives, whether in times of need or otherwise, students can reflect on what they learned in the course to help them steady their path in life.”
Pablo Sanchez, Regional Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC USA
“As a global company, we have seen the devastating economic effects of the pandemic. There are foundational, systemic issues that contribute to greater poverty and financial instability. It is an absolute imperative that we must all work together to help our children learn how to best prepare for financial emergencies. It is also important to teach them how to understand the economic markets so they have opportunities to build wealth. We are delighted to work with EVERFI in reaching students with critical educational content that can help to improve the lives of many.”
Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman, LinkedIn and Co-Founder of The Compassion Project
“The unprecedented series of events in 2020 has the potential to do lasting harm to the social and emotional well-being of our young people if we don’t take proactive steps to equip them with the essential life skills they need, now and into adulthood. Primary schools provide a strong platform to teach these skills, and the private sector plays a vital role in supplying our educators with the resources to support them. In working with EVERFI to deliver The Compassion Project to classrooms throughout the country, we hope to teach students the meaning of compassion and develop a foundation for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and in life.”
Dennis Duquette, President, MassMutual Foundation
“The pandemic has cast a light on systemic social and economic disparities as well as the need for more equitable educational resources for all students, regardless of zip code or socioeconomic background. The private sector can play a pivotal role in helping our schools provide every child with critical skills education content. To that end, we have partnered with EVERFI to deliver financial skills and education to more than two million middle and high school students across the United States through engaging and evidence-based digital financial literacy programs. We will continue this important work with EVERFI to reach millions of more students as part of our broader efforts at the MassMutual Foundation to help build more stable and thriving communities for all.”
Timothy Murphy, General Counsel, Mastercard
“Making financial systems accessible to those in underserved communities is a critical first step in dismantling racism and ensuring equal opportunity for all. The Master Your Card financial literacy program was designed to help achieve this by providing students of all ages with the education and resources needed to manage their money. We are prouder than ever to continue partnering with EVERFI on reaching and empowering people across the country to realize their full potential.”
Anna Isaacson, Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility, NFL
“During these unprecedented times, it is important to our league to ensure that youth across the country have access to the resources they need to lead better lives and feel equipped to handle the world around them. It’s also important to extend our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the communities we serve. EVERFI’s commitment to reducing barriers to opportunity through ensuring schools across the country have the tools needed to help students gain critical life skills is inspiring. We’re proud to be a long-time partner of EVERFI on youth character development and we look forward to continuing to work alongside them.”
Rob Knesaurek, Group Vice President, Youth Development and Industry Growth, NHL
“Providing equal access to resources that go beyond the core curricula and allow children to develop critical socioeconomic life skills is essential as we strive for inclusivity and opportunity for all. We’re thrilled to support this initiative and believe it will create meaningful societal change.”
Diahann Billings-Burford, CEO, RISE
“The sports community has always provided an essential influence to improve race relations, inspire a movement and bridge gaps in our communities, and RISE is ceaseless in its mission to educate and empower them to be advocates for change. We have seen the mobilization of a social justice movement we haven't seen in decades and one that we have never seen before in sports. We are excited to work with EVERFI to bring a new curriculum to high school students -- one that empowers them to address issues of racism, diversity, and inclusion at this critical juncture. We know that the foundation students learn today will provide them with the tools to be culturally competent and advocate for racial equity in their communities as they grow.”
Kelly S. King, Chairman and CEO, Truist
“We’re very proud of our long-term partnership with EVERFI to create better educational opportunities for America’s youth both inside and outside our schools. Whether it’s creating opportunities through financial literacy for high school students or developing strong literacy skills for K-2 students, EVERFI’s innovative tools help Truist fulfill its purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. We’re highly encouraged by this bold commitment to advance hope, diversity, equity, and inclusion during a pivotal time in our country.”
Robin Koval, CEO and President, Truth Initiative
"The pandemic is impacting our nation’s youth in ways we could not have imagined. In many cases, they are facing long-term isolation which can result in the development of high-risk habits, such as vaping. We drove down youth smoking rates to historic lows, and we are equally committed to achieving the same results in ending the youth e-cigarette epidemic. We believe delivering critical education on the risks of vaping to all children is an important part of these efforts. Through our curriculum work with EVERFI, we're able to reach vulnerable communities that are most at-risk and most frequently targeted with predatory commercialism. The scale and reach of EVERFI’s platform and school relationships will help us to someday soon put an end to all youth e-cigarette use through our prevention, education, and digital quit programs."
Tom Naratil, Co-President of UBS Global Wealth Management and President of UBS Americas
“We believe that in order to develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce, we must invest in programs that raise awareness of important societal issues and expand educational opportunities. Working with EVERFI we developed Keys to Your Future, a program that helps advance college and career readiness for students from under-resourced communities. Most recently we committed to expanding EVERFI’s 306: African American History curriculum to educate students across the country, as well as UBS employees and clients, on the important stories of Black women and men throughout American history.”
Al Ko, CEO, Early Warning, the network operator for Zelle
“Together with EVERFI, we are providing education at scale to empower youth to participate in the modern economy safely, now and in the future. The pandemic has changed so many lives, while also bringing key social and economic issues to the forefront. EVERFI has built a network of partners to help solve these issues, especially in vulnerable communities, and we are proud to be part of the change.”
ABOUT EVERFI, INC
EVERFI is an international technology company driving social change through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to prescription drug safety to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is fueled by its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) community engagement platform and has reached more than 41 million learners globally. Recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2020, EVERFI powers community engagement in a sustained manner to empower individuals and organizations to make an impact within their communities. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, as well as Advance, Rethink Education, Rethink Impact, The Rise Fund, and TPG Growth. To learn more about EVERFI and how you can #answerthecall please visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @EVERFI