Meet Deeta Saravanan | Founder & CEO of Project YouthFinLit

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deeta Saravanan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deeta, how does your business help the community?
When I entered high school two years ago, I started to explore my interests in finance and economics. Through a school club, I held workshops at my local middle school, teaching students about entrepreneurship, economics, and finance. More than halfway through the year, I decided to hold a “Stock Market Challenge”, where students would be able to invest through an online simulation of the market. The students did great, with the winning group making great returns on their investments. However, the following week when I asked them the importance of investing in personal finance, none of them were able to connect the simulation they excelled at to real-life financial decision-making.

Growing up in Atlanta, I’ve witnessed firsthand the consequences of limited financial literacy during youth and how that translates to poor financial decision-making among adults. These early experiences highlighted a prevalent issue to me: The primary cause of financial insecurity in adults can be traced to the lack of financial education during childhood. This concern intersects with a broader challenge evident in Atlanta’s striking wealth divide. An Urban Institute dataset reveals that the median wealth of a White household in Atlanta is $238,355, whereas in a black household, it is $5,180.

Simply put, the median White family in Atlanta has 46x the wealth of the median Black family. Atlanta leads the nation in income inequality, and these statistics reveal that certain racial groups disproportionately face difficulties in building wealth. Wealth disparity hinders an individual’s financial well-being and contributes to broader racial inequalities. To address this issue, I founded Project YouthFinLit (PYFL), a nonprofit providing quality financial education to youth worldwide. By offering in-person & virtual seminars, creating educational materials, and establishing chapters globally, PYFL aims to empower young minds worldwide with financial knowledge. Looking ahead, I envision further expanding PYFL globally; my vision does not just include my community; it’s a step towards creating a world where financial literacy is accessible to all. I aim to challenge the narrative that financial literacy is a privilege, but rather a right, advocating for accessible financial education for all youth, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Project YouthFinLit is a 501(c)3 International Nonprofit Organization dedicated to providing youth worldwide with a quality financial education, regardless of nationality or socioeconomic status. By exposing children to financial literacy concepts at a young age, we aim to establish a pillar of education in children to aid in reaching financial stability as an adult. In the past year, we have worked with over 2,000 students across 12 countries in partnership with 8 international organizations/schools.

Through PYFL’s three educational programs, we effectively bridge the geographic and socioeconomic divides among youth to ensure each student gets access to finlit resources.

In-Person Seminars: We host in-person seminars at elementary and middle schools throughout the Metro Atlanta area, teaching grades K-8 throughout the school year. PYFL teaching assistants prepare and lead seminars, with workshop content including finlit standards sourced from the U.S. Council For Economic Education. Concepts covered in past seminars include using a credit vs debit card, different types of loans, and investing basics.

Virtual Seminars: We’ve partnered with international organizations across China and Korea to host weekly finlit seminars to students. Over 10 classes are taught weekly, with meetings held on Voov/Zoom. PYFL volunteers fluent in Chinese and Korean serve as teachers and/or live translators during class.

Educational Materials: Project YouthFinLit has collaborated with multiple international organizations to design and ship finlit educational materials such as brochures, packets, and journals to youth in underprivileged areas worldwide. This program is designed to connect us with students facing geographic, technological, and socioeconomic barriers to finlit resources. Our past brochures have included information ranging from the simple definition of finance to steps to take in building financial independence.

Chapters: We lead a chapters program, where international volunteers are able to start a PYFL chapter in their own community. Currently, our chapters engage youth across the U.S., Spain, Netherlands, India, China, Korea, and soon, Indonesia.

Partnerships: PYFL has partnered with over 8 international organizations and schools, including Forsyth County Schools, BuildingBridges Education, Books For Africa, Youth Space Indonesia, Sarada Vidyalaya Girls Secondary School, and Nigeria Reads, among others. Through forming these partnerships, we’re able to expand our reach to new demographics and provide finlit resources to students worldwide.

Financing: Project YouthFinLit was awarded a fiscal sponsorship from The Hack Foundation, granting us 501(c)3 status along with becoming a Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) Certifying Organization. To finance the cost of our seminars and the production and distribution of our educational materials, Project YouthFinLit holds annual, semi-annual, and quarterly fundraisers.

Leadership: I’ve elected an executive team of directors to specialize in operations under each department of Project YouthFinLit. Directors manage volunteer teams dedicated to teaching, outreach, media, fundraising, or operations. By forming team clusters overseen by a director, I am able to consolidate each volunteer group into a corresponding section (i.e., teaching, fundraising). Implementing a top-down organizational structure in Project YouthFinLit has allowed me to supervise and spearhead strategic planning and operations effectively while also utilizing PYFL’s growing volunteer base of young changemakers to further our mission.

Starting Project YouthFinLit as a sophomore in high school was not easy. However, if I had one piece of advice, it would be to remember that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and believe in your work because if you don’t have faith in your mission, how are other people supposed to?

Another lesson I’ve learned is the power of connections and networking. Through various leadership conferences I’ve attended over the past two years, I’ve been able to network with so many individuals who have taught me so much about the nonprofit realm and introduced me to valuable opportunities.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Project YouthFinLit owes its success and global impact to the unwavering commitment of our exceptional officer team. These individuals have been the driving force behind PYFL’s mission to empower students worldwide through financial literacy. Their dedication, passion, and efforts have shaped the organization and created countless opportunities for students worldwide.

– Founder & CEO: Deeta Saravanan (West Windsor Plainsboro High School North)

– Teaching Director: Arya Patel (Lambert High School)

– Fundraising Director: Hanna Kim (Lambert High School)

– Publishing Director: Agamya Gehlot (Lambert High School)

– Media Director: Priya Shah (Monroe Township High School)

– Media Director: Elliott Neves (West Seattle High School)

– Outreach Director: Zoe Teets (Corona Del Mar High School)

Website: https://www.projectyouthfinlit.org

Instagram: @deetasaravanan / @projectyouthfinlit

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/deeta-saravanan-62887a231

Other: Project YouthFinLit Linkedin Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-youthfinlit/posts/?feedView=all