Tyrone Ross, financial advisor and director of community at Altruist, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a series of videos aimed at bringing financial education to young people. Called “Learn to Money,” the videos would be hosted by Ross and paired with 20-minute lesson plans that can be integrated into classroom curricula.
“Growing up in an unbanked home, I learned that cash rules everything around me,” Ross said in a video about the series. “So why is it that right now in America only 21 states require financial literacy to be taught? That’s why I’m creating ‘Learn to Money.’”
The videos will cover many financial concepts, including budgeting, saving, investing, home buying and credit scores, among others. They will live on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, but Ross hopes to get into schools. He promises to use “dope graphics” and jargon-free language.
Raised in New Jersey in a family where no one had a high school diploma, a young Ross dreamed of winning his own gold medal in the Olympic games. He eventually qualified for the 2004 team in the 400-meter dash, only to be left off the roster when coaches decided to trim the athletes competing in Athens, Greece. As a young college graduate with a degree in communications, Ross found Wall Street. He was named one of WealthManagement.com’s Ten to Watch in 2019.
He’s currently raised over $31,000 for the video series, and at $35,000, he plans to create a pilot episode and curriculum. At $225,000, he’ll create six episodes with curricula, and it goes up from there.
He also says he plans to seek partnerships with organizations and corporations to expand the reach of the program.