The Quilter Foundation, the charity arm of wealth manager Quilter, has pledged to provide £3.5m of strategic funding for three programmes aimed at improving financial education over the next five years.
The programmes are designed to help people build the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to better understand and manage their money.
The Foundation has selected Money Ready, Carers Trust and The London Foundation for Banking & Finance (LFBF) as the first organisations to receive support through its new Financial Futures Fund.
The £3.5m will fund programmes designed to improve financial education, capability and confidence at key stages of life, from unpaid carers dealing with changing financial circumstances to young adults navigating employment, housing and independent living.
Money Ready will receive £1.1m over five years, extending its partnership with the Quilter Foundation to 17 years. The programme will support 20,000 young adults, including 5,000 people at risk of homelessness, with practical financial education covering areas including budgeting, saving, debt, tax and tenancy management. In addition, with the Foundation’s support, Money Ready will facilitate a volunteer-led financial education programme in schools.
Carers Trust will receive £1m over five years to develop a financial education programme for unpaid carers. Delivered through five local ‘Quilter Hubs’ alongside digital support, the programme is expected to reach 16,830 carers, providing practical support around budgeting, financial entitlements and longer-term financial planning.
LFBF will be given up to £1.4m over five years to develop and roll out an AI-powered money coaching solution designed to provide accessible and personalised financial guidance when people need it most. Its initial rollout will focus on university and college students, before the model is expanded through charity partners to reach wider groups.
The partnerships form part of the Quilter Foundation’s strategy to create brighter financial futures through financial education and capability. Since launching in 2018, the Foundation has directly supported more than 130,000 people through 64 charity partnerships across the UK.
The Foundation has also appointed two new independent trustees, Sarah Dryden, LFBF’s director of research, and George Reid, a former Quilter plc board member, bringing further expertise across financial capability, financial services, governance and the charity sector.
Steven Levin, CEO of Quilter and chairman of the Quilter Foundation, said: “Through these partnerships, we are committing significant, long-term funding to three organisations with the expertise and ambition to help address this. Whether someone is adapting to the financial impact of becoming an unpaid carer, managing rent and bills for the first time or simply needs somewhere trusted to turn with a money question, the right financial education at the right time can make a significant difference.
“By combining funding with the expertise and volunteering support of Quilter colleagues and advisers, we want to give more people the skills and confidence to take control of their money and build a stronger financial future.”