FutureSmart™, developed by EverFi,
is a “Serious Game” to help students navigate the complex modern financial
world (please find also Serious Games Help Students Make Better Personal Financial Decisions and Serious Games Help Students Build A Positive Credit History).
In the simulated adventure, students control
the family purse strings and make spending decisions starting at buying school
supplies in level one to enjoying the fruits of their labor during retirement
in lucky level thirteen.
It follows a story-based narrative that pushes
students to set their own personal goals and make real-life, personal financial
decisions. The surveys and assessments in each module displays students
knowledge gains throughout the “Serious Game” and provide insight into their
shifts in behavior and attitude. The pertinent financial information FutureSmart provides students, allows
them confidently and effectively enter today’s financial world.
In addition to the in-classroom course, students can continue their
journey towards financial literacy using the free companion mobile app
available for download from the iTunes
or Google
Play stores.
FutureSmart’s uniqueness
resides in the fact that it allows players to better visualize and understand
the impact of their day-to-day decisions on their personal goals and financial
future.
By following a story-based narrative that
offers a significant variety of real-life contexts (redecorating a room,
planning a trip, choosing a career, etc.), developers manage to introduce complex
economic concepts covering most areas of Personal Finance education: thinking
economically, assessing benefits and costs, opportunity cost, earning income,
building human capital, paying taxes, budgeting, saving, financial planning,
investing, borrowing and banking.
The “Serious Game” works as an effective
vehicle for young students to play as themselves and being in charge of their
life. It is also extremely engaging and fun while replicating the multiple
financial decisions its young target audience is to make over the span of a
lifetime.
About Everfi
EverFi, Inc.
is the education technology innovator that empowers K-12, higher education, and
adult learners with the skills needed to be successful in life and work. With
backing from some of technology’s most innovative leaders including Amazon
founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Twitter
founder Evan Williams, EverFi has built a network that is powered by over 3,300
partner organizations.
EverFi’s products, which have reached more than
16 million learners, address topics including financial literacy, sexual
assault and harassment prevention, alcohol responsibility, social and emotional
learning, and Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) and career
readiness.
Late April, the Rise Fund, a global fund
committed to achieving measureable, positive social and environmental outcomes
alongside competitive financial returns, announced it had invested in EverFi.).
The Rise Fund led the $190 million financing round with a $120 million
investment. TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity investment platform
of global alternative asset firm TPG, invested $30 million, and existing
investors also participated in the financing.
“Education technology is a growing sector that
presents a compelling opportunity to create meaningful positive outcomes,” said
Bill McGlashan, Founder and Managing Partner of TPG Growth and Co-Founder and
CEO of The Rise Fund. “EverFi’s unique programs are creating measurable,
positive results—both financially and socially. We are confident that EverFi is
working to change the future of education, which makes this an exciting
investment for Rise and TPG Growth.”
“We assessed EverFi with the same financial and
commercial rigor that we apply to all of TPG’s vertical market software
investments,” said Nehal Raj, Partner at TPG. “With EverFi, we see an
opportunity to invest in a world-class team with an exciting growth trajectory.
EverFi’s ability to deliver rich educational content at scale, in a SaaS (Software
as a Service) business model, uniquely positions the company to emerge as a
leading education technology platform.”