The Montana Financial Education Coalition is a group of individuals, businesses, financial institutions, and government and non-profit agencies that believe in the importance of financial education. These individuals and organizations work together to educate and prepare Montanans for life-long financial success.

Our Mission

The Montana Financial Education Coalition (MFEC) strives to improve the personal financial knowledge and decision making ability of Montana citizens by promoting public awareness of the need for personal financial education, providing a platform for promoting the agenda of Montana financial education providers and building the capacity of their programs.

Our Vision

Montana citizens will achieve long-term personal financial health.

Who We Are

The Montana Financial Education Coalition is a collection of financial institutions, government and non-profit organizations, businesses, and interested individuals who believe that financial literacy is essential to economic advancement. We are an affiliate of the National Jump$tart Coalition but we are not limited to only assisting youth. Our efforts reach out to Montanans of all age groups and financial situations. The Montana Financial Education Coalition does not intend to replace other education programs throughout the state. Instead, we function as a platform to forge partnerships and share best practices to become more efficient and effective in our initiatives.

Guiding Principles

The Montana Financial Education Coalition will use the following points as guiding principles in all of its activities.

A coalition dedicated to empowering Montana citizens to make wise decisions toward their financial future.

All Montana citizens will have access to a variety of resources and educational opportunities that will allow them to gain the information necessary to lead them toward economic empowerment and the ability to make informed decisions about personal finances.

A coalition of committed partners.

The coalition will build collaboration among all interested entities. Utilizing these partners’ expertise, the coalition will optimize the human and financial resources required to create a continuum of statewide financial education efforts.

A coalition that is community-based.

Financial education is not the responsibility of a single organization or agency. Schools, families, businesses, community-based organizations, non-profits and government agencies all contribute. In recognition of the work currently being performed in Montana’s communities, the system will build upon local successes and resources.

A coalition that is results-oriented and committed to long-term improvement.

The coalition will identify indicators of financial health to guide, support, promote and assess our statewide efforts. Establishing and utilizing a system of evaluation will ensure the services, resources and programs supported by the coalition are progressive, efficient, innovative and inclusive.

A coalition that supports research and best practices.

The coalition will strive to reference research findings when promoting the need for financial education in Montana. The coalition will continually seek research-based, best practice programs, resources and services that meet criteria established by the coalition.

A coalition that is proactive in promoting personal financial health.

The coalition will reach out to all Montana communities in ways that seek to promote personal financial education. This entails developing and implementing strategies that communicate to consumers of all ages and at all socio-economic levels.

What Does the MFEC Do?

The MFEC mission encompasses a variety of activities such as:

• Serve as an informational clearinghouse for Montana financial education providers
• Host the MFEC website which includes resources for educators, partners, and anyone interested in financial education
• Publish periodic updates to MFEC’s friends
• Facilitate collaborative partnerships among Montana organizations
• Promote public awareness of the need for financial education through the media and other venues
• Provide a platform for promoting the agenda of Montana Financial Education Providers
• Host statewide conferences
• Network with Montana organizations
• Engage Montana financial education providers at the national level