Financial Technology App Goalsetter Raises $9.6 Million to Increase Collaborations and Reach Educational Institutions

The financial technology app “Goalsetter” has achieved its goal of raising over $9 million from institutional investors to support the growth of its collaborations with educational institutions, wealth managers, and financial institutions.

The app that helps families teach their kids how to earn and manage money, called Budgeting, successfully raised $9.6 million in Series A funding on March 25. The funds will be used for Goalsetter’s education programs, budgeting software implementation in schools, and signing and integration of the company’s technology into the platforms of financial partners.

“The future of finance is families. It’s not just that individual patriarch anymore,” said Goalsetter’s founder and CEO, Tanya Van Court. “We are really focused on: how do we enable all of our partners to reach their next generation of customers? And how do we enable our partners to reach that next generation of customers so that they become lifelong customers?”

Star athletes like NBA players Kevin Durant and Chris Paul have donated $30 million to Goalsetter since its launch in 2016. Envestnet, a wealth management technology platform, has recently joined the ranks of Fiserv and Trustage, two prominent names in the financial services industry, as partners. Astia Fund, Webster Bank, Fiserv, Seae Ventures, Reseda Group, and InTouchCU were among the institutional investors in the most recent round.

Goalsetter banking on elementary schools and families as the market is overrun with apps

Verified Market Reports estimates that the market for personal finance apps will reach $451 billion by 2030, growing by 24% from 2024 to 2030 despite their recent rapid expansion.

There is still funding available and consumer demand despite the heightened competition. In the last week alone, investment platform NewRetirement raised $20 million, and budgeting app Copilot raised $6 million in Series A funding.

The target markets and services offered by each financial app vary. According to Van Court, Goalsetter plans to use the additional funds to expand its network of partners in the banking and wealth management industries because families and kids still desperately need financial education.

Van Court reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic when uncertainty led to more family financial discussions, they observed a greater shift in financial literacy. Simultaneously, social media was providing teens and young adults with quicker access to financial information.

“There was heightened financial insecurity because there was so much uncertainty, and people were not prepared for an uncertain world like that,” she said. “And kids [now have] a heightened awareness around finances that a generation ago, they would never have been worried about.”

In addition to an app, Goalsetter has created a curriculum for use in middle and high schools that teaches financial literacy. Thus far, the fintech company has collaborated with educational institutions in ten states, namely Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. According to Van Court, they plan to soon expand into California.

Over the past two years, there has also been an increase in demand for financial literacy in schools. The number of states that mandate a personal finance course for high school graduation has increased to 35 from 12 in 2022, per a survey conducted in February by the Council for Economic Education (CEE).

“Kids are online all the time so they hear about things like Gamestop, they hear about crypto, and they want to get involved. And they don’t really have the tools to understand what the risks are,” said Nan Morrison, president and CEO of the council.

Morrison stated that financial literacy instruction must begin in schools, regardless of whether those resources originate from apps.

“I’m a big proponent of putting it in the schools because that way, we know that every child has equitable access,” she said. “Whether a teacher decides to use one of the many apps, or not, is up to them. They need to be thoughtful about whether those apps make sense for the population that they’re teaching.”