Spelman College Launches Financial Wellness Program

Spelman College students are getting an early start on building wealth starting this fall.

The Atlanta-based HBCU for women recently announced the launch of its strategic partnership with Stackwell, the digital investment platform aimed at eliminating the racial wealth gap, and Fintech in Action, a social impact initiative that promotes Black talent in finance and fintech.

According to a news release, the financial wellness pilot will provide Spelman students with a finance and investing course and a seeded Stackwell account of $250 to get a head start on building wealth while in college.

Sixteen Spelman sophomores who won the Braven Accelerator Capstone Challenge will be the first to take part in a pilot that will be tracked over three years to assess how students can build sustained wealth over time. With a goal of empowering the students to grow their investments over time, the participant will graduate with all the funds they amassed to launch their professional careers.

“Fintech in Action is thrilled to partner with Stackwell to build and launch this new initiative,” Korene E. J. Smith, Director of Fintech in Action said.

“Going into the Braven Capstone Challenge, I wanted our sponsorship to offer a challenge question and prize that made an impact beyond the classroom. We truly believe this program has the potential to be scaled to larger cohorts of students and expanded across HBCUs and other colleges and universities–providing access to critical and functional financial education and an understanding of the markets to countless Black students in America.”

The financial wellness program is part of Fintech in Action and Stackwell’s larger strategic partnership that includes a variety of initiatives for Black college students and student-athletes.

“I am so excited that our cohort is being given the opportunity to start an investment journey while we’re still in school,” Morgan Newson, a rising junior at Spelman said.

“To be provided with a program that teaches us how to be successful investors on our own, along with a seeded account is a huge deal. As a Black woman, it means a lot to have this kind of support and head start in learning how to build wealth. Being able to start years before graduation gives me leverage as I think about financial stability and my future.”