Money is one of the leading sources of stress in modern life, yet most solutions continue to focus on financial knowledge alone. The result is a troubling disconnect where people may understand financial concepts, but still struggle with anxiety, avoidance, shame, and a lack of confidence when it comes to making financial decisions.
The Money Confidence Project (MCP) was launched to tackle the emotional side of money that traditional financial education often fails to address. Building on years of impact as the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, we recognized that the real barrier to financial well-being is often not a lack of information, but rather emotional elements, including fear of making mistakes, anxiety about debt, and uncertainty about the future.
Helping people build healthier relationships with money requires addressing the human side of financial decision-making. Therefore, we set out to:
• Reduce the anxiety and stigma surrounding money.
• Help people build confidence, not just knowledge.
• Inspire healthier financial habits and behaviors.
• Reach people who are often disengaged from traditional financial education.
• Create accessible, engaging experiences that make money conversations feel approachable.
• Expand financial confidence across workplaces, schools, and communities.
We created experiences people would actually want to engage with. Through storytelling, gaming, behavioral science, and personalized technology, Money Confidence Project helps people build the confidence and habits needed to make better financial decisions.
Financial literacy has long been treated as an education problem. We saw it as a human problem.
Research consistently shows that financial stress affects nearly every aspect of life, from mental health and relationships to workplace productivity and long-term economic mobility. Yet most financial wellness programs focus on providing information rather than helping people overcome the emotional barriers that prevent them from taking action.
Money Confidence Project was created to fill that gap. We meet people where they already spend their time and attention -- on phones and online -- using engaging experiences to make financial progress feel achievable rather than intimidating.
To accomplish this, we built an integrated set of programs designed to address financial confidence from multiple angles, powered by entertainment, behavioral science, storytelling, and interactive learning.
Our Million Stories video channel uses authentic storytelling with real people to normalize conversations about money and break down the stigma surrounding financial struggles. Through more than 250 episodes across 45+ original series, audiences see real people confronting financial challenges, building resilience, and creating better futures.
MCP’s Venture Valley transforms financial literacy into a competitive entrepreneurial video game, where players learn business and financial decision-making through experience rather than lectures. By replacing fear of failure with experimentation and play, participants gain confidence in a risk-free environment.
MCP's Groove app takes a personalized behavioral approach to financial wellness. Built with insights from behavioral science research, Groove helps users understand their unique Money Personality and develop practical habits that support long-term financial well-being.
Together, these programs give people multiple ways to engage with money in ways that feel relevant, approachable, and practical.
One of our biggest challenges was overcoming disengagement. Many people avoid financial education because it feels overwhelming, judgmental, or disconnected from their daily lives. Instead of asking audiences to adapt to traditional financial literacy models, we redesigned the experience around human behavior and interests.
Another challenge was creating solutions that could scale across diverse audiences. Students, employees, families, and community members all face different financial realities. Our approach allows partners to deploy programs individually or together, creating flexible pathways to engagement while maintaining a consistent mission.
As a nonprofit organization, our goal is not simply to distribute content or tools; it is to help people feel capable of taking control of their financial futures and translate that confidence into action. Financial literacy has traditionally focused on information. Our approach focuses on confidence, behavior, and action. That shift is helping more people take meaningful steps toward improving their financial futures.
Money Confidence Project (MCP) is demonstrating that when people feel more confident about money, they are more likely to take meaningful action.
Through storytelling, technology, gaming, and behavioral science, Money Confidence Project has reached millions of people through partnerships with employers, school districts, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, and media platforms. From students at HBCUs and underserved communities to employees, families, and nonprofit participants, our programs help people access practical tools, resources, and experiences that support better financial decisions.
Today, MCP has built a community of more than 1.5 million people, and the work has been recognized with 35 awards across education, technology, gaming, financial wellness, and social impact.
Participants are reporting meaningful changes in confidence, habits, and financial decision-making:
While reach matters, our focus is on helping people take action. The results reinforce the insight that inspired this work: financial literacy is not just an education challenge; it is a human one.
