Marketplace and Greenlight to Launch Nationwide Financial Literacy Tour for Middle Schools
First-ever Million Bazillion Live! tour will bring interactive financial education to 50,000 students across the country
ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 29, 2023 – American Public Media’s® (APM) Marketplace®, the most widely consumed business and economic news programming in the country, has partnered with Greenlight® Financial Technology, Inc. (Greenlight), the fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially smart kids, to launch a dynamic financial literacy tour, Million Bazillion Live! “Who Wants to be a Bazillionaire?”
Based on the Webby-winning kids’ podcast Million Bazillion from Marketplace and presented by Greenlight, the 20-city Million Bazillion Live! tour will debut this September at middle schools across the nation to bring financial knowledge and empowerment to more than 50,000 students.
Presented in a fun, entertaining game show format, Million Bazillion Live! is an immersive experience with personal finance trivia, challenges, and prizes. During the tour, students will cheer on their classmates while learning about real money matters such as budgeting, saving, and investing. The first leg of Million Bazillion Live! will visit: Kansas City, MO; Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX; Austin, TX; Fayetteville/Little Rock, AR; Baton Rouge, LA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Washington, DC; Philadelphia, PA; and New York, NY. The second half of the tour will commence in Spring 2024.
“We're excited to continue our partnership with Greenlight to bring this crucial programming and essential life skills to schools across the nation,” said Neal Scarbrough, Vice President and General Manager at Marketplace. “This initiative is an extension of Marketplace’s mission to bring more young Americans under the tent of financial literacy and empower them with the knowledge they need to successfully navigate their futures.”
Personal finance education still isn’t a requirement for students to graduate in all 50 states. 27 states don’t require a personal finance course, even though teens score an average of 64% on the National Financial Literacy Test. At the same time, 93% of teens know they need financial knowledge and skills to achieve their life goals — and 97% of parents agree.*
“At Greenlight, we’ve always been focused on empowering young people with the financial knowledge, skills, and confidence they need for a healthy future through our award-winning banking app and engaging educational resources,” said Jennifer Seitz, Director of Education at Greenlight. “With the upcoming Million Bazillion Live! tour, we look forward to reaching even more families and educating local communities on the critical topic of financial literacy in a fun and entertaining way.”
“American Public Media has principles that guide how we partner with brands while honoring the trust and reputation our programming has earned with audiences,” said Tom De Napoli, Vice President of Revenue Strategy at APM. “Our partnership with Greenlight is a great example of how each campaign we develop must offer cultural meaning to our audiences, drive business results for our partners, and elevate the content it surrounds. With the Million Bazillion Live! tour, we are extending our public media mission into new storytelling spaces – classrooms across the country – to educate the next generation about financial literacy.”
To learn more, please visit millionbazillionlive.com. Episodes of Million Bazillion are also available for listening on all major podcast platforms, with a new season starting Sept. 5. For more information, visit marketplace.org/millionbazillion.
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About Marketplace
Marketplace® is on a mission to raise the economic intelligence of the country. Its core programs —Marketplace®, Marketplace Morning Report® and Marketplace Tech® — are currently broadcast nationwide on more than 800 public radio stations and heard by 12.5 million weekly listeners. Marketplace podcasts, including Make Me Smart with Kai and Molly, The Uncertain Hour®, This Is Uncomfortable and Million Bazillion, can be found at Marketplace.org or on your favorite podcast app. The Marketplace portfolio of programs are produced and distributed by American Public Media® (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world. For more information on Marketplace, visit marketplace.org.
About American Public Media
American Public Media® (APM) is the national programming and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio® and reaches nearly 17 million listeners with 1,000 public radio stations and over 400 commercial stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio that includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programs in the nation. APM Studios, a division of APM, offers a diverse array of podcasts featuring the best in food, culture, entertainment, business, and investigative journalism. For more information on APM, visit americanpublicmedia.org.
About Greenlight
Greenlight Financial Technology is the family fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially smart kids. Its product, Greenlight, is an award-winning banking app, complete with a debit card for kids and teens, cash back credit card, and safety features for the whole family. Parents can automate allowance, manage chores, set flexible spend controls, and invest for their family’s future. Kids and teens learn to earn, save, spend wisely, give, invest, and manage credit. Together, families can also stay safe and connected with location sharing, SOS alerts, and crash detection with automatic 911 dispatch.
The Greenlight Debit Card is issued by Community Federal Savings Bank, member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. The Greenlight Family Cash Card is issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO®), member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Greenlight Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, provides investment advisory services to its clients. Investing involves risk and may include the loss of principal. Greenlight is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Greenlight app facilitates banking services through Greenlight's bank partners. For more information, please visit: greenlight.com.
*Survey insights were collected by Greenlight through a Researchscape survey fielded between March 18 and March 20, 2022, among 1,096 respondents in the U.S., split between teens ages 13-18 and parents of 13-18 year olds.
Media Contact:
Tsering Yangchen, APM, tyangchen@americanpublicmedia.org
Jessica Tenny, Greenlight, comms@greenlight.com