Program gives teens investment accounts & financial education

By Jill Hawley, Chief Impact Officer

Last month, Gary Community Ventures and Impact Charitable launched Ignite Futures Fund, an early wealth-building program that will provide 125 Colorado high school students with a $20,000 investment account. Paired with financial education, the accounts aim to provide a foundation of wealth that can help young people build financial resiliency and economic prosperity throughout their lives, and for generations to come.

The vision behind Ignite Futures Fund begins with a simple belief inspired by our founders. Sam and Nancy Gary showed that the true value of wealth isn’t measured by what we keep, but by what it makes possible for others. By creating Gary Community Ventures, Sam and Nancy demonstrated how they used their success to strengthen their own family while investing in the future of communities across Colorado — a legacy that continues to shape our work today. 

Wealth should no longer be the aspiration of a fortunate few. It can — and should — be attainable for every child and family because it builds resiliency, expands choice and gives people the freedom to build the lives they want for themselves and future generations.

Ignite Futures Fund will help us explore what becomes possible when young people enter adulthood with the assets that allow them to build personal and generational wealth.

Participants — sophomores and juniors whose families qualify for Medicaid or CHP+ — will receive a $20,000 investment account that can be used for one of four wealth-building purposes: post-secondary education or training, homeownership, investing in or starting a business, or long-term investments such as retirement. Participants come from across the state with cohorts in metro Denver, Colorado Springs, Durango, and Ft. Morgan.

A key component of this program is building an investor mindset by demystifying markets and helping young people feel a sense of agency and belonging in the wealth economy. Participants will engage with an interactive, digital financial education and participate in a stock market competition. They and their families will also have the opportunity to engage in optional financial coaching and planning services.

One of the most exciting aspects of this program is the opportunity to learn. Because the program serves high-school students, we’ll be able to understand the impact of early wealth building accounts much sooner than similar programs that invest in young children. The program’s mixed‑methods evaluation will provide evidence for public and private‑sector strategies to expand early wealth‑building accounts, inform larger‑scale models and unlock public dollars through lasting policy. 

As an impermanent philanthropic organization, Gary is committed to using all of our resources by 2035 to build wealth and transform systems for Colorado kids and families. Ignite Futures Fund reflects both priorities: creating wealth-building opportunities for young people today while generating evidence that can inform large-scale systemic solutions in the future.

Addressing affordability issues and increasing wages will help Coloradans meet the demands of everyday life; however, we must also challenge the assumption that individuals must first achieve financial security before building wealth. Ignite Futures Fund gives us a chance to put that belief into practice with a generation that has much to gain and pass down to those who will follow in their paths.

If you’d like to learn more about Ignite Futures Fund or discuss Gary’s broader wealth-building work, I’d love to connect.