Financial Futures Fund

Good, relevant financial education isn’t always easy to find. Current resources often don’t reflect people’s real lives, leaving many without the knowledge or confidence to make smart financial choices. This can keep people stuck in hardship and stop communities from becoming stronger and more financially capable.

Our Financial Futures Grants are designed to advance financial education and empower individuals at pivotal moments throughout their lives. By partnering with specialist organisations, we ensure that the support provided reflects a deep understanding of communities and a commitment to reaching those who stand to benefit most.

These grants address two key challenges: improving access to high-quality financial education and guaranteeing that content is tailored and relevant for diverse audiences. Successful partners are selected for their experience and proven ability to engage specific groups, whether young people, those entering the workforce, or individuals facing financial vulnerability.

Through sustained, high-value funding, we seek to create meaningful change. Our approach is about more than short-term impact; helping partner organisations innovate, adapt, and provide invaluable support where it is needed, now and for generations to come.

Alongside grant funding, the Quilter Foundation is launching a volunteer-led Financial Education in Schools initiative to deliver curriculum-aligned financial education to primary, secondary, and sixth form students. Developed alongside Money Ready, the programme offers structured lessons and comprehensive volunteer training to ensure quality and safeguarding. By drawing on Quilter’s expertise and partnering with schools, the initiative aims to build lasting financial capability in young people, with strong measurement and improvement processes.

Strategic Partnerships

The Financial Futures Strategic Grants are designed to support substantial, transformative programmes that significantly enhance people’s financial capability and self-assurance, particularly at pivotal stages in their lives. These moments might include entering the workforce for the first time, navigating the complexities of financial hardship, or taking steps to prepare for retirement. The ambition is to empower individuals to make informed and confident decisions about their finances, breaking down barriers that can keep them in cycles of struggle or uncertainty.

To ensure these grants are both impactful and inclusive, funded programmes are expected to blend well-established, evidence-based approaches with fresh, innovative methods. The aim is to engage and support people who currently have the least access to financial education and resources, those who are often overlooked by mainstream provision.

Each grant will be structured around two central components:

• A core programme with a national or multi-regional scope, designed to deliver high-quality financial education and support at scale. This element ensures broad reach and the dissemination of best practice, so that large numbers of people can benefit from improved financial knowledge and skills.
• A tailored sub-programme created and delivered by the lead organisation, specifically adapted to meet the needs of a priority group. Examples might include women, disabled people, ethnic minority communities, care leavers, refugees, single parents, or any other underserved population identified by clear evidence. This approach guarantees that the support offered is not only wide-reaching but deeply relevant to those most at risk of being left behind.

Success for these Strategic Grants will be demonstrated through robust, measurable improvements in participants’ financial knowledge, practical skills, confidence, and positive behaviours related to money. Programmes should aim to deliver change at scale, ensuring that the benefits extend well beyond individual participants to strengthen local and national partner ecosystems. This includes building enduring relationships between specialist organisations, schools, employers, and community groups.

Moreover, there is an expectation that credible and actionable learning will be captured and shared across the sector. By disseminating insights and effective practices, grant recipients can help drive broader improvements in financial education, ensuring that others can learn from what works and adapt it to their own contexts.

Financial Education in Schools

The Quilter Foundation is currently developing a Financial Education in Schools Programme in collaboration with Money Ready.  This initiative aims to help young people learn essential money skills and prepare for financial independence. Many children leave school without knowing how to manage money, even though financial education has been part of the Citizenship curriculum since 2014. Research shows that only about one-third of students remember learning about money at school, even though most already make online purchases. The programme seeks to change this by making financial education a key part of learning from an early age.

The programme will introduce financial education starting in primary school and continue through secondary education. Lessons will combine basic maths with real-life examples, such as budgeting, saving, and understanding credit. These skills will help young people feel confident and prepared for managing money in everyday life.

By working closely with Money Ready, the Foundation is designing engaging and practical workshops and resources for schools. The programme also plans to involve employers to support financial education for older students, ensuring they are ready for independence after school.

Improving financial literacy can have a big impact. It helps young people make better decisions, reduces financial stress, and even benefits the economy. The Quilter Foundation’s goal is to give every child the tools they need to build a secure financial future.