As part of its commitment to financial education, Fidelity Investments has announced a $250 million initiative that will provide access to education and support for up to 50,000 students. The Invest in My Education program is the latest step in Fidelity’s ongoing commitment to historically underserved communities.
Led by its nonprofit partners, Invest in My Education will identify the first cohort of students for the Fidelity Scholars program in the summer of 2023. Interested students can apply for the program beginning in March 2023. Learn more about Invest in My Education (ME) here.
Invest in My Education will build upon Fidelity’s culture of associate volunteerism and focus on financial well-being, bringing together scholarships, mentoring, student success experts, as well as experienced nonprofit partners.
The success of the initiative will be measured through students’ college completion rates, their capacity to graduate without student debt, and their ability to secure good-paying jobs that facilitate greater economic mobility and financially firm futures.
Informed by data and research, Invest in My Education focuses on a critical period in a student’s journey that is susceptible to disruption: post-secondary education and training.
Only 21% of Black and 32% of Latinx students who start college graduate within four years, compared to 45% of white students. This disruption has long-term financial implications: the median earnings of people with a bachelor’s degree were 63% larger than the earnings of those whose highest educational level was the completion of high school.
Associate degrees are also linked to greater earnings, providing a 20% boost over the median earnings of those with a high school education.
Invest in My Education is designed as a long-term approach to improve post-graduation outcomes for historically underserved students, supporting the opportunity for economic mobility and a foundation to build a path toward generational wealth.
The program, built alongside its nonprofit partners, will consist of three key components:
Fidelity Scholars Program: Individual scholarships designed to help students overcome barriers to success and graduate debt-free from a two-year college, four-year college, or certificate program. The Fidelity Scholars Program includes scholarships for students in underserved communities and a suite of ongoing support, including mentorship by Fidelity associates, internship/apprenticeship guidance, and financial education programming.
Retention and Completion Grants: These grants are designed to help institutions assist students who are close to completion and in danger of dropping out due to unpaid tuition and academic fee balances.
Ecosystem-Building Grants: These grants will be directed toward leading nonprofit organizations focused on improving graduation rates for thousands of Black, Latinx, and other underserved high school and college students. Funding will help strengthen coordination among organizations related to advising, transition and support to ensure quality pathways to post-secondary education.
“Invest in My Education upholds Fidelity’s most fundamental value — to empower individuals to strengthen and secure their financial futures,” said Pamela Everhart, head of regional public affairs and community relations, at Fidelity Investments. “By taking a unique, long-term, and holistic approach, Invest in My Education has the potential to support economic mobility for up to 50,000 students over the next five years—and that is really just the beginning.”
To inform the work and connect resources with the students and communities most in need, Fidelity has engaged several strategic partners including UNCF.
“UNCF’s North Star is to increase the total annual number of underrepresented graduates by focusing on activities that ensure more students are college-ready, enroll in college, and persist to graduation,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, president, and CEO at UNCF. “The combination of our community knowledge and Fidelity’s expertise in financial wellness will make a significant impact on the lives of these students.”
In alignment with its “scan, try, scale” approach to innovation, Fidelity will first launch the program in three regions where it has a significant associate presence in order to leverage the skills and expertise afforded through its associate base in financial literacy training and mentoring: Boston, MA, Raleigh/Durham, NC, and Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
Today, @Fidelity announced Invest in My Education (ME)℠, a social impact initiative that will build upon our culture of associate volunteerism by combining scholarships, & mentorship programs that will serve historically underserved students.#FidelityAssociate pic.twitter.com/1drWqsZpPl
— FidelityJobs (@FidelityJobs) January 17, 2023
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