Financial education
Financial education and learning about money is a lifelong journey. Ecstra Foundation wants to ensure that more Australians including children and young people have access to effective financial education, and guidance when they need it.
This is why Ecstra partners with a range organisations and educators, often already active in schools, communities and workplaces. They share our passion for financial education and equality of access – ensuring that more people from all backgrounds and at all life stages get the opportunity to learn money lessons for life, to be confident making financial decisions and to plan their financial future.
Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation
Ecstra’s flagship program Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation is designed to help Australian students learn money lessons for life, to be confident talking about money and to make informed financial decisions.
Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation offers facilitator led workshops for Years 5-10 students and additional resources to reinforce learning and key concepts in class. The program is provided at no cost to schools, enabling more students across Australia to access financial education at key life stages.
Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation has been developed by education experts in collaboration with a financial education advisory group, providing diverse experience, insights and feedback. The workshops and resources are evidence based and aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework.
Learn more on our dedicated website Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation
Other financial education programs and initiatives
Below is a selection of current and completed grants addressing money lessons for life.
Deakin University
Economics + Maths = Financial Capability
The Economics + Maths = Financial Capability Project led by Dr Carly Sawatzki explored ways to develop and support humanities and mathematics teachers’ work as financial educators.
The project involved exploring how the Australian Curriculum frames finance-related content, compiling insights from education research, surveys and interviews with education professionals, teachers and students, designing a bespoke course for teachers.
The project worked with a consortium of peak teaching associations including the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers, Business Educators Australia, the Victorian Commercial Teachers Association and the Mathematical Association of Victorian.
You can read the final report here.
Feb 21 - Dec 22
Young Change Agents
$20 Boss
Young Change Agents are industry leaders in social enterprise development, entrepreneurialism and blended learning strategies.
Ecstra’s grant enabled Young Change Agents to embed the successful schools-based entrepreneurship program $20 BOSS into their suite of programs with over 70,000 students signed up to develop their money and enterprise skills through $20 Boss.
YCA is committed to providing access to a wide range of schools. To date, 51% are outer metro, regional and rural schools and 45% qualify as low-ICSEA schools.
Ecstra’s continuing partnership supports program delivery, and the digitisation of YCA’s experiential entrepreneurship program. This includes a new platform for students to create a portfolio of work and budgeting trackers for whole classroom activities.
Jan 2021 - ongoing
Wake by Reach
Financial Capability Project
Pilot program for young women called ‘Glassbreaker’.
The purpose of Glassbreaker was to help young women take control of their financial lives, through a series of facilitated workshops, access to financial literacy resources and membership of an online hub and community of like-minded women.
Jul 2021 - Jun 2022
Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN)
Financial Capability Project
ABCN recruited a Project Manager to produce a feasibility study on creating financial literacy and wellbeing mentoring programs for primary and secondary school students. This considered how they might support young people from low socio-economic backgrounds to build their financial capabilities through their existing employability and skills development programs.
Jul 2019 - Nov 2020