Money Skills for Real Life: GEAR UP High School was written for the National Council for Community & Education Partnerships (NCCEP) as a public service by the Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education ® (NEFE®); William L. Anthes, Ph.D., President; Brent A. Neiser, CFP, Director of Collaborative Programs; and Mary J. Schultz, Project Manager of Collaborative Programs.

NEFE is an independent nonprofit organization committed to educating Americans about personal finance and empowering them to make positive, sound decisions to reach their financial goals. The National Endowment for Financial Education, NEFE, and the NEFE logo are federally registered service marks of the National Endowment for Financial Education. For more information about the National Endowment for Financial Education, visit www.nefe.org.

The National Council for Community & Education Partnerships (NCCEP) www.edpartnerships.org is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and strengthen broad-based partnerships throughout the education continuum, from early childhood through postsecondary education. NCCEP partners with and provides technical assistance to the U.S. Department of Education GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant program grantees that serve nearly 1.2 million low-income students in the United States.

NCCEP functions as the intermediary organization between several private and corporate foundations and their grantees. NCCEP currently works with several large-scale initiatives, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation– sponsored program ENgaging LAtino Communities in Education (ENLACE), the SBC Foundation’s competitive special grants program “NCCEP Grants Promoting Excellence and Innovation in Education,” the Lumina Foundation McCabe Fund initiative, the James Irvine Foundation–sponsored California Education Reform Communities Network, the Booz Allen Hamilton Youth Leadership Summit and the Arthur M. Blank Foundation’s Pathways to Success Initiative, among others.