Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Foundation has launched a financial literacy initiative for HBCU students.

According to BET, the Shawn Carter Foundation, co-founded by Jay-Z and his mother, Gloria Carter, partnered with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Coalition for Equity and Opportunity to launch the Champions for Financial Legacy for HBCU students. The initiative will draw curriculum from the Wharton School's Bridges to Wealth, which is a program that encourages generational wealth among underserved communities.

The Shawn Carter Foundation said the Champions for Financial Literacy initiative will follow “real-world applications and service-learning components allowing students to apply their financial knowledge in community settings, thereby expanding the ecosystem of wealth-building and fostering local development.” Students participating in the initiative will receive financial knowledge and skills to boost their chances for economic success and social mobility.

With support from Toyota Motor North America, the Champions for Financial Literacy is set to debut in spring 2025 at Missouri's Lincoln University, Virginia's Norfolk State University, and Virginia State University before expanding to other HBCUs. Faculty members will receive complimentary professional development training to launch the initiative, and student ambassadors will be trained to help promote it on campus.

“We are excited to see our partnership with the Shawn Carter Foundation evolve to include this innovative initiative,” Monica Womack, general manager of diversity & inclusion and community engagement at Toyota, said in a statement. “One that not only provides resources to HBCU students but also reaches the heart of the community, through advocacy for financial literacy.”

Gloria Carter said the foundation is dedicated to "uplifting students and communities that are underserved.”

“To launch a financial education program that will reach more students and communities, along with dedicated partners like Toyota and the Wharton School of Business, is a vision we are finally seeing come to fruition,” she said.

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Ernestine Shepherd