Scarlet to Black Receives Grant Funding from Robinhood Money Drills®
JONESBORO – A recent grant from Robinhood Markets as part of its Robinhood Money Drills® program will equip the Arkansas State University Scarlet to Black (S2B) program to educate current A-State students and student athletes on financial literacy.
Philip Tew, director of Kays Foundation Scarlet to Black Program for Financial Independence, and assistant director Melanie Ricker say the grant will allow them to provide resources and teachings on financial literacy through avenues including a for-credit class and budgeting simulations.
“There is a relationship between poverty and poor physical health, between poverty and stress, and between poverty and poor mental health. Previous research has shown that improving financial knowledge can influence wealth accumulation from both the asset growth and debt reduction sides,” said Tew.
In addition to the expansion of a for-credit personal finance class, the grant will fund four undergraduate students to work for S2B as peer-to-peer mentors, empowering them to give guidance on topics related to personal asset management and investing.
“Overall in the US, 42% of families have no exposure to the stock market, and for the majority of those that do have exposure to the market it is a passive exposure through their retirement accounts,” Ricker added. “The stock market participation numbers get worse when you look at families that live near or below the poverty line, families who live in rural areas, and families of color. A large portion of A-State students, especially our student athletes, come from these backgrounds.”
For some, the impact of this grant could be a turning point for those who have been bogged down for generations by poor financial decisions by them or those around them.
“People comment that ‘young people should know these basic things like budgeting and taxes’ but for many this is not taught at the K through 12 levels due to other mandated requirements and they can’t learn at home because those at home may not know it either. We live in an area with some of the highest unbanked populations in the country – if parents and grandparents don’t fully understand financial wellness, they can’t teach their kids,” said Tew.
Another target of the S2B program is focused on student-athletes who, in the era of name, image and likeness (NIL), may immediately benefit from conversations about personal finance. With the advent of NIL, student-athletes are able to score contracts and generate earnings while playing sports for a university. With little oversight of how the young adults budget their earnings, they may face difficult decisions about how to allocate these funds. A-State and Robinhood are enthusiastic to be working together to provide resources to this group.
If an athlete turns professional, it is not a golden ticket to a life of financial stability: an NFL player is three times more likely to declare bankruptcy compared to a member of the general population.
“They are making financial decisions today with the thought that tomorrow will be a big payday so ‘live it up' today,” Tew said of NIL. “We want our athletes to understand – even if you make it to the next level, the statistics show us that not only will you not be immune to financial hardship, you actually have a greater probability of having financial hardship.”
Tew and Ricker thank Robinhood Markets for the grant and the opportunities that will come from it. The partnership has been in the works since July 2024, when Robinhood reached out to the S2B Program to see how they could expand financial education on campus.
The financial services company strives to make the market accessible to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, including college students. Robinhood operates similar partnerships at colleges and universities nationwide, such as Duke University, Florida State University and West Virginia University.
“We’re thrilled to see more universities recognizing the importance of financial education and empowering their students with personal finance fundamentals. Partnering with Arkansas State University allows us to further our mission of improving financial futures for students and student-athletes alike," said Chloe Barz, director of international government and external affairs at Robinhood Markets, Inc. "Since launching Robinhood Money Drills® three years ago, just as NIL opportunities emerged, we’ve seen real impact: 95% of participants report greater confidence in managing their finances. We look forward to building on this momentum with Arkansas State University.”
Tew adds that students who complete three courses (Finance 3733, Finance 2013 and Finance 4013) will obtain a Certificate in Personal Financial Wellness from A-State.
“The certificate was designed to be a 'stand-alone' program where we want students from all majors to participate – they can work on the certificate for their own financial benefit or to help future clients, students,” said Tew.
Scarlet to Black members host a welcome back event for students.
