The National Endowment for Financial Education is the leading private nonprofit 501(c)(3) national foundation dedicated to inspiring empowered financial decision making for individuals and families through every stage of life. Through increased understanding of personal finance issues, everyone can enjoy better, more secure, and more satisfying lives.

NEFE evolved from the College for Financial Planning®, a Denver-based nonprofit that served as the nation’s first financial-planning educational institution. The College helped define the concept of financial planning and established the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM certification.

As the College grew, diversified, and advanced its interaction with the public, its trustees and management recognized a critical need for ongoing financial educational efforts that could provide reliable, impartial financial information to consumers, particularly the underserved. To meet that need, the trustees created the National Endowment.

Years	Highlights
1972	The College for Financial Planning is established, defines the concept of financial planning and establishes the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®) designation for financial planners.
1984	High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP) launches.
1992	The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) began serving as the parent entity of the College for Financial Planning.
1997	The board of trustees makes the bold decision to focus NEFE's efforts solely on its public service mission and NEFE transfers ownership of the College for Financial Planning and related divisions to the Apollo group; creates endowment from proceeds of sale.
2005	In January, NEFE launches Smart About Money (www.smartaboutmoney.org), the first of several educational programs developed for various specific audiences.

NEFE is independently funded by its own endowment and operates as a noncommercial entity free from financial ties to other organizations. NEFE’s endowment was established with the proceeds of the sale of the College for Financial Planning and related transactions in 1997. Additional growth is realized only through investment of the endowment’s assets.

NEFE does not accept funding from government or corporations, and does not raise revenue through the sale of products or services.

All NEFE resources are provided free of charge.