National Endowment for Financial Education

National Endowment for Financial Education

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) was established in 1984 with the launch of its High School Financial Planning Program, a free curriculum distributed to schools nationwide. Under President and CEO Billy J. Hensley, NEFE has evolved into the country's largest nonprofit foundation wholly focused on advancing financial education through research, policy engagement and convening. The organization operates from Denver, Colorado, where a 2025 Board of Trustees now chaired by Dionne Blue, Ph.D. and vice-chaired by Rachelle Feldman governs its strategic direction. NEFE deploys its endowment entirely through mission-related grants and research funding, targeting behavioral finance, consumer financial health and educator training. Since 2006, it has funded more than 500 research projects and actively partners with the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy — which it helped found — and the Council for Economic Education to shape policy dialogues and professional standards. Geographically, its work concentrates on the United States but draws on international behavioral research collaborations. NEFE does not disclose total assets under management or grantmaking volume. Its footprint, however, is structurally singular: rather than operating a direct investment portfolio, the organization channels capital into academic rigor and field-building initiatives. Its 2026 Annual Report, released March 2026, highlighted a year of collaboration, research and increased momentum for state-level financial literacy mandates. The organization currently employs an undisclosed number of professionals and runs all operations from its Denver headquarters. A structural differentiator is NEFE's deliberate exit from the direct education delivery business — it no longer produces or distributes classroom curricula, having shifted entirely to research funding, policy advocacy and intermediary mobilization. This pure-grantmaker model, combined with governance by a board drawn from policy, academia and practice, positions NEFE as a field catalyst rather than a service provider.