Expanded Program Will Reach Up to 300 Students Across Participating Schools Beginning March 2026
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Student Freedom Initiative (SFI), a national nonprofit dedicated to helping students build generational wealth, today announced the expansion of its Student Investment Program (SIP) in partnership with Stackwell, an innovative fintech platform creating accessible pathways to investing for emerging wealth builders. This program is supported by a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Consumer Money Management (ICMM) and other philanthropic sponsors.
Now entering its third year, the expanded program will serve up to 300 students across 15 HBCUs, providing each participating student with up to $1,000 in investment capital, along with structured financial education designed to build long-term investing knowledge, confidence, and habits. In total, SFI and its partners will provide the third SIP cohort with $200K to help students build strong foundations for their financial resilience.
“The SIP is central to our strategy to build generational wealth for students at our partner institutions,” said Keith B. Shoates, President and CEO of Student Freedom Initiative. “By focusing on education and asset ownership, we’re giving students access to the tools, capital, and confidence necessary to build long-lasting financial freedom.”
The Student Investment Program is designed to remove common barriers to investing by pairing capital with education and behavioral support. Grant funds are distributed in installments, encouraging students to stay invested and build comfort with long-term market participation rather than short-term speculation.
The 2026 SIP cohort will include students from the following institutions:
- Bowie State University
- Claflin University
- Clark Atlanta University
- Dillard University
- Florida A&M University
- Hampton University
- Morehouse College
- Norfolk State University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Southern University and A&M College
- Texas Southern University
- Tuskegee University
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- University of the District of Columbia
- Xavier University of Louisiana
“We designed SIP to help students see themselves as investors — not someday, but now,” said Trevor Rozier-Byrd, Founder and CEO of Stackwell. “By expanding to 15 schools, we’re scaling a model that combines real capital, real market exposure, and real education. This is about building investor identity early and making long-term wealth building accessible.”
The support from the Institute of Consumer Money Management builds on the success of ICMM’s prior support for the Student Investment Program in 2025, which demonstrated strong student engagement and growing interest in early investing as a tool for financial empowerment.
“ICMM is pleased to continue our partnership with Stackwell to support innovative approaches to financial capability,” said Dr. Diane Chen, Founder and Executive Director of ICMM. “By supporting the third year of the Student Investment Program and centering HBCU students, we aim to expand access to practical investing experiences that can shape financial confidence and behavior early in adulthood.”
The Student Investment Program is part of SFI and Stackwell’s broader commitment to closing wealth gaps by increasing participation in asset ownership and improving financial wellness outcomes for students historically excluded from investing opportunities.
Applications for the 2026 cohort open March 23, 2026, and close April 17, 2026.
To learn more about becoming a SIP funding partner, please contact SFI at sip@studentfreedominitiative.org or Stackwell at partnerships@stackwellcapital.com.
About Student Freedom Initiative
A single-purpose nonprofit organization, Student Freedom Initiative, empowers students and enables institutions. Its purpose is to reduce the wealth gap for participating students through equitable loans, tools, and resources essential to building generational wealth. Simultaneously, Student Freedom Initiative seeks to expand the resilience and competitiveness of participating institutions through capacity-building resources to help them maximize their potential. Student Freedom Initiative collaborates with community-based organizations, businesses, and governmental entities through public-private partnerships to make sustained systemic changes to support the ecosystem.
About Stackwell
Stackwell is an innovative fintech platform dedicated to increasing financial wellness and asset ownership among multicultural emerging wealth builders. Stackwell’s platform provides automated portfolio construction to simplify investing, financial wellness education to increase investor confidence, and science-based engagement tools to drive behavioral change and financial goals realization. By addressing cultural, social, and emotional barriers to financial inclusion, Stackwell is helping our communities build wealth and thrive.
About the Institute of Consumer Money Management (ICMM)
The Institute of Consumer Money Management is a nonprofit research foundation dedicated to advancing evidence-based strategies that improve financial security and economic mobility. ICMM supports high-impact programs and applied research that bridge academic rigor and real-world practice.
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