NFL Players Association Launches “Dropping Jewels” Initiative with Goalsetter

For Immediate Release
April 1, 2021

Media Contacts:
Carl Francis | Director of Communications
Carl.Francis@nflpa.com | 202-255-0694 

Sonia Diaz
sonia@balserapr.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The NFL Players Association announced today that it has teamed up with Goalsetter, a Black-owned kids and family finance app that provides a next-generation, education-first banking experience for U.S. kids and teens, to launch “Dropping Jewels,” an initiative focused on helping every kid in America achieve financial freedom and fluency. Through “Dropping Jewels,” the NFLPA is committed to teaching key financial principles to youth by providing nuggets of knowledge that will help them towards becoming the next generation of owners and investors.

As part of the initiative, each participating NFL player will draft classrooms of kids during the month of April, also recognized as Financial Literacy Month, towards the path of financial freedom through a seed investment of $40 into their Goalsetter savings accounts. With the Goalsetter app, each child will be able to learn more about saving and investing through memes and GIFs from hip hop artists, pop culture personalities, and social media influencers.

Participating NFLPA players will also be “Dropping Jewels” of wisdom through surprise Zoom bombs to their “drafted” classrooms to talk to the students about how their own hits and misses with finances helped them to become better savers, investors, and ultimately, owners. Additionally, kids will have access to a special course uniquely designed for kids and created by Goalsetter CEO Tanya Van Court called “Building Wealth – A Blueprint to Financial Freedom Inspired by Hip Hop.”

“Financial literacy and freedom are at the core of many of the programs and resources that we provide to our player members,” NFLPA Player Affairs Senior Director Dana Shuler said. “By teaming up with Goalsetter, we are not only able to reinforce these jewels of wisdom with our participating players, but also impart them to the next generation of leaders so that they can get a head start on building wealth to make a positive impact in the world.”

The partnership between Goalsetter and the NFLPA was born as a spinoff of Goalsetter’s Black History Month “Drafted” movement, which featured dozens of athletes, celebrities, social activists and organizations, including Houston Texans safety Michael Thomas, “drafting” kids across the country to receive Goalsetter savings accounts.

VIDEO: Houston Texan Safety Michael Thomas Surprises 10 year-old with Goalsetter Account

As two Stanford University Black alumni, Van Court and Thomas were inspired to collaborate in a deeper way and add an additional layer of dimension to the “Drafted” campaign by introducing kids to life-changing financial literacy concepts in a fun, relatable way.

As one of the NFLPA’s Executive Committee members, Thomas then spearheaded the effort with the players union to launch “Dropping Jewels” and solidify a commitment from its members that would focus on securing the upward mobility of Black and Brown youth across America.

“I am proud of this partnership between the NFLPA and Goalsetter, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this effort for our players union,” said Thomas. “It is critical that we shed light on the importance of teaching children and families in our communities about the tools that will help them attain financial freedom and establish generational wealth. I believe everyone, both children and adults, can greatly benefit from becoming more fiscally fit and knowledgeable about their finances. It is never too early or too late to learn.”

Another fellow Black Stanford alumni and NFLPA Executive Committee member, Richard Sherman, is one of the many NFL players who has stepped up to be a part of the Dropping Jewels campaign, and will be staging a surprise Zoom-bomb into a yet-to-be-named classroom in America.

The need for financial education, particularly in minority communities, has recently become a hot topic, as a study released in 2017 showed that African-Americans and Latinos are projected to have a negative net worth by 2053 and 2073, respectively. The devastating socio-economic impact of the pandemic on these communities is likely to only accelerate this projection. Fortunately, studies also show that kids who have savings accounts are six times more likely to go to college and four times more likely to own stocks as young adults.

“We believe that the only way to truly make an impact that will change the course of minority communities in this country is to close the economic gaps that continue to hinder their progress. The first step is to create collective consciousness around the lack of financial literacy that many communities are facing, and the second is to implement actions that will help bridge the gap” said Tanya Van Court, CEO of Goalsetter.

With this in mind, Van Court created Goalsetter, a financial app that seeks to meet kids where they are by engaging them in financial literacy through kid-friendly, culturally relevant quizzes and games that teach them the building blocks of saving, investing and the key principles of acquiring wealth. Drawing from her own experience as a former Nickelodeon executive, Van Court believes that by educating our children today, we can reverse the curse of 2053 and set every kid in America on a path to financial freedom.

“As a country, we have long neglected to teach the core principles of building wealth to those who need it most, and do so in a way that is engaging, impactful, and relevant to kids. Our partnership with the NFLPA and extraordinary educators across the country is a seminal moment for America, because it foretells a new chapter in how we reach and teach our children. Seeing their heroes from the football field ‘drop jewels” of wisdom from the financial field will be a game-changer for America’s kids, and will help those who need it most to get excited about learning the building blocks of financial freedom and success,” added Van Court.

Van Court’s vision and mission took on a life of its own during Black History Month, when more than 40 athletes, celebrities, activists, organizations and brands signed up to draft a million kids into financial freedom through Goalsetter. Led by NBA stars Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, the effort drafted over 22,000 kids and generated more than $1 million in seed money for their accounts. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, philanthropist Robert K. Smith and Nike were among the many who stepped up to support.

As part of the “Dropping Jewels” campaign, each selected student will receive:

• An FDIC-insured savings account through the Goalsetter app
• A deposit of $40 in their individual Goalsetter savings accounts
• Five years of financial literacy educational tools, which include weekly fun quizzes and games designed for kids that are kid-friendly and culturally relevant
• A Cashola Card (the Goalsetter tween and teen debit card backed by Mastercard) that has game-based financial literacy quizzes attached to it.

Goalsetter, a leading mobile banking app for kids and teens, has been featured on Shark Tank, and was developed using Van Court’s experience as a former Nickelodeon and ESPN executive.

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About the NFL Players Association

 The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through the 2030 season. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.

About Goalsetter

As a family saving, financial literacy and smart spending app, Goalsetter makes it easy for the whole family to go cashless and learn how to be money smart. Goalsetter’s smart money app for families includes: FDIC-Insured Savings Account; the Cashola Teen and Tween Debit Card with parental controls, Game-based financial literacy quizzes; "Learn before you Burn” parental control feature on the debit card and the "Learn to Earn” financial reward component. Goalsetter was founded by Tanya Van Court, a Stanford University alum, former Nickelodeon and ESPN executive. Click here to learn more about Goalsetter’s robust app and offerings.