“In their early years, the band earned lots of money, but ran through it quickly,” Page says. “They came back and approached their career differently, and wanted to spread the message of financial responsibility. They connected with people like Quincy Jones and others in the business to hone their message, but they’re really telling their own story.”
Students are also taught about the importance of living below their means and the dangers of using a credit card as a rainy day fund. Finally, Gooding extolls the benefits of compounding interest. After a short question-and-answer session, teachers are given a financial literacy curriculum based on the band’s lessons.
“The overall message is that without a basic understanding of finance and some real discipline, the world can get very tough very quicky,” Gooding writes. “I graduated high school with a better understanding of algebra than I did my own checkbook, credit card or FICO score, and I certainly hope students now leave school with a better understanding of financial life than I did.”
Gooding was formed over a decade ago while it’s core members —Gooding, drummer Jesse Rich and bassist Billy Driver — were students at the University of Kansas. Their music has been featured on the Daily Show, CSI and Criminal Minds.
After the band performed as part of Operation Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching financial literacy to underprivileged and disadvantaged communities, Gooding found a calling — teaching children and young adults about financial literacy before the credit card companies and payday lenders came calling.
To that end, Gooding created Funding the Future, a nonprofit that supports its financial literacy tours. In 2014, the band performed for about 13,000 students in a truncated tour. This year, Gooding will visit more than 70 schools nationwide, with many dates in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida and California sponsored by Raymond James affiliates.
Next year, Page hopes to have Gooding back performing in Philadelphia-area schools.
“We want to do this year after year,” Page says. “The schools we’ve worked with were very excited to have Gooding perform, and we’re looking forward to bringing them back.”