Short on Time?
If a session is running behind, facilitators should cut content—not activities. Lecturing to save time is less engaging and, ultimately, less effective.
Keys to Your Financial Future is a curriculum developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative®. It helps young people — ages 16–26 who are, or will soon be, facing adult responsibilities — build the financial skills they need.
Keys to Your Financial Future was created with experts from around the country, including young people who shared what they wished they had known about personal finances as they transitioned to adulthood.
The curriculum aims to empower young people to make informed decisions about their financial lives. It is organized into eight segments called keys, which cover topics such as understanding credit, paying bills and budgeting, saving and investing, banking and protecting your identity.
The individual guides for facilitators will help those working with young people lead engaging and illuminating workshops and activities with young people.
In 2025, Keys to Your Financial Future is undergoing an update. The revised training decks are ready for use and are available below. Please continue using the facilitators’ guides below and the participants’ guides while updates are in progress. Please note that these guides do not yet fully match the new training decks. We’ll notify you when all components of the curriculum have been updated. Questions? Please contact Sandy Wilkie.
This guide helps facilitators equip young people, ages 16 to 26, with essential financial knowledge and skill building opportunities. These lessons cover a range of topics — from credit card comparisons and banking basics to identity theft and more — so that young people learn how to gain control of their financial future, access assets and build economic security long term.
We hope you'll find value in this report. We’d love to get a little information from you, which we'll use to notify you about relevant new resources.
