Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden Targets Youth Financial Literacy
September 23, 2022
NBA superstar, James Harden, is using his Impact13 Foundation to fund a ‘financial literacy tour’ for college students across the United States in partnership with financial advisor, Jordan Awoye. The initiative will connect with various colleges and share financial skills, including through a personal finance e-course.
Harden’s Impact13 is on a mission to assist with socio-economic disadvantages and empower women and youth in the areas of community development, education and entrepreneurship. As part of the Foundation’s efforts, he wants to boost financial literacy among young adults – something which he quickly had to learn as a young basketball player. In an interview with CNBC, he shared his rememberance of being a 20-year-old rookie in 2009 with a suddenly sizable salary and wanting to buy everything.
“For me, it was learning how to not just save, but how to make smart investments,” said Harden who recently signed a reported $68.6 million two-year deal with Philadelphia. “You might have money in a bank account or in savings, but for longevity, your money’s got to be working for you when you sleep. That’s something I’ve learned.”
Only 57% of adults in the United States are financially literate according to the Milken Institute. A recent study from FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation showed that people who scored above the median on a financial literacy quiz were more likely to make ends meet than those whose money know-how is more limited. Additionally, 54% of teens say they are worried about financing their futures and nearly 70% say that rising higher education costs have affected their post-graduation plans.
As part of the tour Awoye has visited six institutions - including Towson University in Maryland and Norfolk State University in Virginia - and met with small groups of students to talk about life and finances. The Impact13 Foundation is covering the $795 cost of the financial e-course developed by Awoye that each student will receive, addressing topics such as budgeting, debt, credit and investing.
For Awoye, his interest in boosting financial knowledge is a matter of “if only I knew then what I know now.” He also shared that the NBA star might make a surprise appearance at a few of the seminars.
“Once I started to do well in wealth management, it really started to become a mission of mine to help with financial literacy. If we can give that to the next generation, everybody will be better off for it,” he said.
CNBC notes that with many American youth reaching adulthood with a lack of knowledge about money matters, some state legislatures have passed laws requiring public school systems to teach personal finance. "Fifteen states guarantee, or have committed to guaranteeing, that all high school students will get a stand-alone personal finance course, according to Next Gen Personal Finance’s 2022 State of Financial Education report. Other states have the curriculum baked into another class (i.e., economics) or offer it as an elective. Still others have no personal finance requirement at all."
Source: CNBC