The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) is the only private, nonprofit, national foundation wholly dedicated to improving the financial well-being of all Americans. The mission of the National Endowment for Financial Education is to help individual Americans acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to take control of their financial destiny. NEFE’s mission is grounded in the belief that regardless of background or income level, financially informed individuals are better able to 1) take control of their circumstances, 2) improve their quality of life, and 3) ensure a stable future for themselves and their families. NEFE’s guiding principles are stated in eight initiatives. These initiatives describe how NEFE achieves its mission, and outlines the goals and standards that guide the foundation’s activities. Every project or program undertaken by NEFE must fit within the scope of at least one initiative. NEFE accomplishes its mission primarily by partnering with other organizations to: 1) provide practical, reliable, and unbiased financial education to members of the public, 2) accomplish research in the field of financial literacy education, and 3) create demand for financial education. NEFE’s activities place special emphasis on those who face financial challenges that are not being addressed by others. Among the target audiences are: youth, low-income individuals and families, and people in difficult or unusual life circumstances. NEFE’s partnerships and the foundation’s own efforts result in a wide range of free and low-cost activities and materials, including: resources for consumers, materials for educators and facilitators, the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program, which includes joint efforts with numerous nonprofit, for-profit, and government entities to develop financial literacy resources for specific audiences, research, conferences, and think tanks on a variety of financial literacy topics, and grant awards to organizations and academic institutions whose work can contribute to the field of financial literacy.