New Nonprofit Tackles Financial Anxiety with Psychology and Tech

PASADENA, Calif. – April 08, 2026 – A new nonprofit organization, The Money Confidence Project, officially launched today, aiming to fundamentally reshape the approach to financial wellness. Emerging from the decade-long legacy of the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, the public charity is dedicated to helping people move beyond financial anxiety by focusing on mindset, skills, and habit-formation.

The launch comes as financial stress evolves from a personal struggle into a full-blown workplace crisis, impacting both employee well-being and corporate bottom lines.

The $250 Billion Drain on Productivity

Financial stress is not a silent affliction confined to an employee's home life; it actively follows them into the workplace, costing U.S. employers dearly. The Money Confidence Project's launch highlights a staggering statistic: an estimated $250 billion is lost in productivity each year as workers, distracted by personal financial concerns, lose focus and engagement. Research consistently supports the scale of this issue, with multiple studies showing that up to 60% of full-time employees feel stressed about their finances.

While some figures, like those from BrightPlan's 2024 Wellness Barometer Survey, estimate the annual productivity loss at $183 billion, others place it as high as $300 billion. Regardless of the exact number, the consensus is clear: financial anxiety is a significant and costly drag on the American workforce. This drain manifests as absenteeism, reduced focus, and time spent during the workday dealing with money-related issues, creating a compelling business case for employers to seek more effective solutions.

Beyond Budgets: A New Focus on Financial Psychology

For years, the standard corporate response has been to offer traditional financial wellness programs centered on educational materials, budgeting tools, and retirement planning seminars. The Money Confidence Project argues this approach is incomplete.

"We see some employers investing in employee financial wellness programs and that is progress, but we still see those programs falling short," said Geoff Howard, CEO of The Money Confidence Project. "If curriculum and conventional tools were the solution, we wouldn't still have a problem. Those traditional solutions focus on financial education materials without addressing the deeper issue: people's emotional relationship with money."

This philosophy is deeply rooted in the principles of behavioral finance, a field that demonstrates how psychological biases and emotional responses heavily influence financial decisions. Experts in this area have long argued that simply knowing what to do—like saving more or spending less—is often insufficient to trigger a change in behavior. The emotional weight of money, tied to feelings of fear, security, or self-worth, can override rational decision-making.

The Money Confidence Project's framework is built to address this gap, shifting the focus from pure education to a more holistic model of guidance, habit-building, and personalized support that acknowledges and works with an individual's unique financial psychology.

Gamifying Finance for a New Generation

Putting its philosophy into practice, the organization is leveraging a suite of modern, engaging digital tools inherited from the Singleton Foundation, each designed to make financial literacy accessible, engaging, and effective.

Groove: This personal finance app is designed for those who feel anxious about their finances. Moving beyond simple transaction tracking, Groove incorporates a "Money Personality" assessment, developed in collaboration with researchers from Duke University's Common Cents Lab. This allows the app to tailor content and habit-building exercises to a user's specific beliefs and behaviors around money. It uniquely encourages users to track their financial stress and emotions alongside their spending, providing a more complete picture of their financial health.

Million Stories: This award-winning digital channel features a library of shows and videos aimed at breaking the taboo of talking about money. Through entertaining and relatable content, Million Stories seeks to help viewers get smarter about their finances and build the life they want.

Venture Valley: Perhaps the most innovative tool in the suite is this award-winning video game. Available for free on PC and mobile devices, Venture Valley immerses players in a fast-paced, risk-free entrepreneurial world. Players build and manage virtual businesses, learning critical financial and business skills through gameplay. The game's effectiveness is backed by research from professors at Suffolk University and the Lemelson-MIT Program, which found that 83% of student players reported increased knowledge of financial decision-making and nearly 70% expressed a greater interest in starting their own business after playing.

Building a Network of Confidence

The project's credibility is not just built on its innovative tools but also on its established network of academic and educational partnerships. The ongoing research collaboration with Suffolk University provides continuous validation for Venture Valley's educational impact. Partnerships with Boston University's IDG Capital Student Innovation Center, which has hosted Venture Valley competitions, and YIPPEE, a marketplace for entrepreneurship education, help integrate these tools directly into K-12 and university curricula.

The collaboration with Duke University's Common Cents Lab on the Groove app underscores the project's commitment to a science-backed approach to financial behavior change. By working with these institutions, The Money Confidence Project is embedding its philosophy and tools within the educational ecosystem, aiming to build financial confidence from a foundational level.

By combining behavioral science, engaging technology, and a network of credible partners, The Money Confidence Project is positioning itself not merely as another financial literacy program, but as a comprehensive movement to change how individuals feel about and interact with their money. The organization's launch signals a pivotal shift toward empowering people with the psychological tools and practical habits needed to take control of their financial futures and alleviate the pervasive stress that affects so many.