National Credit Union Foundation Expands At-Risk Youth Financial Well-Being Grant To $650,000 For 24 Credit Union Recipients
By CU Today Staff —
MADISON, Wis. – The National Credit Union Foundation announced 24 credit unions were selected to receive funding through its At-Risk Youth Financial Well-Being Grant.
The Foundation originally made $500,000 available for the grant cycle but, after receiving the largest response to a call for applications in the grant program's history, added an additional $150,000, bringing total funding to $647,600 to support more credit unions in launching or expanding programs designed to serve the unique financial needs of young people in communities across the entire country, NCUF said.
“The Foundation’s grant recipients will put new ideas into action to improve the financial well-being of at-risk youth. The projects will allow participants to build real-world financial skills and confidence through experiences that may include saving toward meaningful goals, building credit, managing earned income, exploring entrepreneurship and establishing relationships with trusted financial institutions. Through strong community partnerships, grant recipients will meet young people where they are and create opportunities to turn financial education into action,” NCUF said.
“A young person’s financial well-being is the throughline that influences nearly every opportunity that follows, from education and employment to housing and long-term stability. What we saw in this grant cycle was extraordinary demand from credit unions eager to address those challenges in their communities,” said Lauren Culp, executive director at the National Credit Union Foundation. “The Foundation turns that commitment into action by bringing together resources, innovations, and connections that accelerate and scale what works. More than the dollars granted, this is about changing the trajectory of millions of lives.”
The grant builds on insights from the Foundation's Foster Youth Financial Literacy Grant, a 2024–2025 cohort of eight credit unions that engaged more than 2,200 foster youth and helped establish over 400 new savings account relationships. The 2025–2026 cohort of four credit unions ends its grant cycle at the end of this month.
“The impact these credit unions will have on young people is what drew me to this work, but what keeps me here is what happens between the credit unions themselves,” added Christine Hickey, senior manager, financial well-being programs and grants. “Every grant cycle, I watch a group of strangers become a cohort and share what's working, being honest about what isn't, and building on each other's ideas in real time. That connection is where a lot of the real innovation happens."
This newest cohort is working on an expanded understanding from previous cycles. At-risk youth include those experiencing poverty, housing instability, justice involvement, educational disruption, or mental health challenges. These groups of young people face significantly higher financial vulnerability than their peers, often lacking access to safe banking relationships and encountering barriers to opening and maintaining accounts, NCUF explained.
The grant period begins Sept. 30, 2026, and runs through Sept. 30, 2027. Grantees will document their work throughout the grant period, and the Foundation will share insights and impact stories to support learning across the credit union movement.
Originally reported by CU Today.