When one hears “4-H,” financial literacy education isn’t the first thought that comes to mind. Nevertheless, the youth program’s partnership with North Texas-based Charles Schwab is bringing investing and finance curriculum to hundreds of thousands of kids in the state.
While none of the Hs in 4-H stand for Hedge Fund (they are Head, Heart, Hands, and Health), and its 65,000 members in Texas are perhaps better known for bringing prize animals to county fairs, the comprehensive leadership program offers several curricular options in addition to the traditional skills of rural life. Formed in 1912, the U.S. program is administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Agriculture Department. Technology, engineering, health, and, thanks to Charles Schwab, financial literacy are also integral to the program. A 2024 survey conducted by 4-H found that 41 percent of teens expressed a desire to learn more about money management, and the partnership aims to address this need.
The partnership between Schwab and 4-H began when the Westlake-based personal finance giant acquired TD Ameritrade for $26 billion in 2020. At the time, TD Ameritrade had recently established a relationship with 4-H, which reaches nearly six million youths nationwide through collaboration with more than 100 public universities. Schwab had previously worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and others, where the firm helped deliver financial literacy education. It also saw an opportunity to do so with 4-H.
The collaboration with 4-H and its rural-leaning population balanced the firm’s Boys & Girls Clubs assistance, which were usually in more urban settings. Through its 65,000 members and other relationships with schools, 4-H reaches between 600,000 and 800,000 kids each year.
Schwab provides guidance and expertise to develop the 4-H financial literacy curriculum, which is delivered through the organization’s network of clubs and school programs. “We make sure that everything is aligned with our Schwab Center for Financial Research expertise, so it’s a value add in terms of the quality of education we provide,” says Kristine Dixon, the managing director of the Charles Schwab Foundation and community services.
Schwab also offers a training program for its employees who wish to become a financial literacy volunteer at one of the company’s nonprofit partners or a location of the employee’s choice. The digital training course prepares them to deliver the resources that the company has developed in collaboration with partners. The company has a robust culture of volunteering. Last year, 2,400 employees based at Schwab’s Westlake headquarters contributed nearly 33,000 volunteer hours to a variety of causes, with many focusing on financial literacy. Nationwide, 12,300 employees volunteered 160,000 hours last year.
Schwab has committed significant resources to its financial literary program with 4-H, called Smart Sense. The program is delivered at in-person 4-H events and is also available digitally through 4-H’s free online program, Clover. The online platform gamifies financial education to make it more engaging and accessible to this generation of digital natives.
Over the past two years, Schwab has invested more than $1 million in the program and its educators, adding six new personal finance courses, a mobile app, educator training, and a national promotion effort. The Charles Schwab Foundation contributed more than $21 million to nonprofits nationwide last year, including $3.3 million to local organizations.
Schwab has long been a partner with Boys & Girls Clubs, Junior Achievement, and Girl Scouts to help deliver a financial literacy curriculum. Recently, it launched a partnership with Uplift Education, the region’s largest charter school network. The charter network, whose CEO was profiled in D CEO magazine last year, developed a detailed Road to College & Career program that included Schwab’s MoneyWise America standards-based personal finance curriculum for teenagers. Last year, Uplift sent its high school juniors to Schwab’s Westlake headquarters for a day to learn about career trajectories, tour the campus, and practice interview skills.
Schwab, whose new CEO Rick Wurster is based in North Texas, is continuing to grow its influence in the community. The 4-H collaboration helps to build on its reputation and diversify the youth organization’s curriculum. “4-H is known for its farm and rural orientation, but it’s actually a full-service youth leadership and development program,” Dixon says. “Its programs provide a comprehensive leadership and educational development program that covers all types of topic areas. They didn’t have a financial education partnership when we came to partner with them, and it was just an opportunity for us to fill a gap.”
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