At a high school in Escambia County, students huddle around tables stacked with game boards, calculators, and mock bank forms. They’re not just playing, they’re learning how to plan their futures. Each decision, from renting an apartment to saving for college, is part of a lesson in financial independence.
It’s a scene repeated in classrooms across Florida, thanks to the Wells Fargo Investing in Florida’s Future partnership. In collaboration with the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, the program empowered ten local education foundations to bring real-world financial literacy to nearly 4,500 students . Many of those students came from economically disadvantaged families, some living below the federal poverty line, and for most, these lessons were their first introduction to budgeting, saving, and responsible spending.
Each foundation received $5,000 to design projects tailored to local needs—from budgeting simulations and reality fairs to workshops using Wells Fargo’s Hands On Banking curriculum. The results were impressive: 99.7 percent of participating students increased their financial knowledge, 98 percent gained confidence in managing their money, and 25 percent opened a bank account for the first time.
Among the ten projects, Escambia County’s “American Enterprise Project” stood out as a powerful blend of entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and financial literacy. Led by the Escambia County Public Schools Foundation and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students, the project expanded the district’s traditional American Enterprise Day into a multi-school initiative that reached 600 students across four Northwest Florida counties.
Students explored the principles of the American Free Enterprise System through competitions, interactive activities, and gamified budgeting exercises. By creating practice budgets, managing mock expenses, and competing for prizes, participants connected economic concepts to real-world financial decision-making. “When students teach each other, the lessons stick,” said Kari Johnson, the program manager for Escambia County Public Schools Foundation.
Their work gained statewide attention and ultimately sent Escambia’s team to the National Leadership Conference in Maryland, where they presented their project to educators and judges from across the country. The students demonstrated how corporate partnerships like Wells Fargo’s can transform classroom learning into leadership and community impact.
“Wells Fargo’s support allowed our students to connect financial literacy to leadership, civic engagement, and community impact,” Kari said. “They didn’t just learn how to manage money, they learned how to strengthen their community through responsible enterprise.”
From Escambia’s award-winning project to Marion County’s Soaring to Financial Success workshops and Clay County’s large-scale reality fairs, Investing in Florida’s Future continues to show that financial literacy is more than a skill, it’s a foundation for opportunity and empowerment.