The Giboney FoundationEnabling Dreams

Student programs

Real-world skills for real-world futures

We provide a range of programs across a myriad of topic areas — better preparing students for their post-secondary experiences.

Financial literacy

Closing the financial knowledge gap

The challenge

The financial knowledge gap

Many students of color enter college and the professional workforce with limited knowledge of effective financial management. As a result, they may face challenges in budgeting, saving, and making informed financial decisions during critical stages of their personal and professional development.

Many also have limited exposure to investment options and financial vehicles — and a lack of guidance on how to leverage these tools to build long-term wealth and financial security.

The solution

Empowerment through education

The Giboney Foundation is bridging this gap through our Financial Literacy and Investment Workshops. These programs are specifically designed to equip students with the “real-world” skills necessary to navigate the modern economy.

What students gain

Personal finance mastery

Essential skills in budgeting, saving, and informed decision-making.

Market fluency

A foundational, practical understanding of the stock market and investment options.

Wealth creation strategies

Actionable plans to grow income, increase net worth, and ensure long-term financial stability.

Free · Play online now

The Financial Simulator

Practice the money moves no one taught you — from your first piggy bank to your first 401(k). Students live a year of real-life money decisions, one month at a time, and see how every choice shapes their savings, their credit and their relationships.

Free account · progress saves automatically

  1. 01
    Ages 7–11

    Elementary School

    Needs vs. wants, one piggy bank at a time.

    Earn an allowance through chores, resist the candy aisle, and save birthday money for a goal.

  2. 02
    Ages 14–18

    High School

    First paycheck, first real tradeoffs.

    Balance a part-time job with grades, pick a phone plan, weigh a bus pass against an old car, and ask about college fee waivers.

  3. 03
    Ages 18–22

    College Student

    Loans, roommates, and your first credit score.

    Cover textbook gaps, handle a roommate who skips the bills, compare paid and unpaid internships, and say no to a 27% APR card.

  4. 04
    Recent graduates

    Young Adult

    Gross vs. net, 401(k) matches, and owning your seat at the table.

    Decode a paycheck, capture the employer match, negotiate a raise, and pay down student debt.

Why it matters

Learn the hidden curriculum — before it costs you

Many first-generation students and students of color never hear the money rules that others pick up at the dinner table. The simulator teaches them safely, where a mistake costs nothing.

Real choices, zero risk

Phone plans, car costs, credit-card offers and rent emergencies feel real, so students build judgment without real debt or damaged credit.

The rules no one explains

Fee waivers, internship stipends, the employer 401(k) match, salary negotiation — the “ask for it” knowledge that quietly shapes who gets ahead.

Money with values

Students weigh family obligations, generosity and community alongside their own goals, because real financial lives include the people we care about.

Habits that last

Every stage reinforces the basics: budget first, build an emergency fund, keep credit-card balances low and pay on time.

Grows with the student

Four stages from age 7 through the first job, so a student can start young and keep coming back as life gets more complex.

Free for every student

No cost, no ads. Create an account and start playing today.

Start the simulator

Coming soonInvesting education

MarketWise by The Giboney Foundation

A free app that teaches students how to think about investing — not what to buy. Short lessons and quizzes lead into a realistic stock-market simulator where students practice with virtual money.

Every trade needs a written plan: why they’re buying, how long they’ll hold, and what could go wrong. After it plays out, students reflect on what happened. That habit of explaining decisions is what turns curiosity into sound, lifelong investing.

Learn step by step

Bite-sized lessons with quizzes, from money basics and how the stock market works to analysis, portfolios and investing psychology.

Practice with virtual money

A $100,000 practice portfolio, fractional shares and real market prices — with no real money and no brokerage account, ever.

Built for ages 10 to 25

A simple guided view for younger students and a full view with charts and research for older students, plus classes, challenges and leaderboards for teachers.

Rewards skill, not luck

Leaderboards rank students on an Investment Skill Score — planning, learning and risk management — where returns count for only a small share.

New · Free online check

How ready are you for AI?

AI is changing school, first jobs and everyday life. Our free AI Readiness Check shows where you stand in about seven minutes — and ends with a personal plan to grow your skills.

No sign-up, no names, no email. Answers are saved without anything that identifies you, and you can delete them anytime.

What the check looks at

  1. AI Awareness

    Knowing what AI is — and what it can and can’t do

  2. Hands-on Use

    How often and how easily you use AI tools

  3. Prompting & Problem-Solving

    Asking AI the right way, and improving its answers

  4. Critical Thinking

    Checking AI answers for mistakes, bias and made-up facts

  5. Responsible Use

    Being honest, keeping info private, following the rules