CapWay and BeGreat Together Partner to Provide “Food and Finance” to Students

Atlanta-based fintech company, CapWay, has launched its new Phunds specialized program, “Food and Finance,” in partnership with education-based nonprofit BeGreat Together and Kansas City Public Schools’ Success Academy at Anderson. The program aims to provide free food to students in underserved communities while also teaching them about money through a Phunds digital-first financial literacy program.

“Public-private partnerships between schools and community corporate and non-profit organizations that directly impact students help us to build stronger support systems for our students, families and the community at large,” says Dr. Robert Lee, principal at Success Academy at Anderson. “We are proud to work with BeGreat Together and CapWay to achieve more together for the betterment of all students.”

CapWay is an ecosystem of financial tools meant to provide an economic toolkit that helps people reach financial health, including digital banking and savings tools. One of the startup’s services is financial education programming, called Phunds, which the organization feels is necessary for a better relationship with money. Phunds, although part of the CapWay ecosystem, stands on its own at Phunds.com.

Students will take modern-day, relatable, and engaging financial education modules through Phunds and gain rewards points for each financial literacy module they complete. They can then use their rewards points to “purchase” food in the Phunds Store located inside the school. Students can fill up an entire bag and return weekly for more items. Under the leadership of Michael Watson, local food distributor Raytown Reap provides the weekly restocking of food.

Success Academy student engaging with the Phunds App
“We are excited about the partnership with BeGreat Together and Success Academy at Anderson. The ability to provide financial literacy and food to the students will impact not just the students but also their families and the surrounding community,” said Sheena Allen, CapWay’s CEO. “The need for financial literacy in schools is long past due, so we are grateful we can provide the foundation to allow students to master the understanding of money and its relation to the real world.”

Items added to the Phunds store
According to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” annual study, there were 31,350 children under the age of 18 who experienced food insecurity in Jackson County, Missouri in 2020. The launch of the Phunds program aims to not only address hunger amongst children but also to provide students with engaging finance tools and learning resources through the process.

“We are always looking for key partnerships to advance k-12 public school programs economically and educationally,” said Avrell Stokes, executive director of BeGreat Together. “This partnership with CapWay will ultimately promote nutrition and equip students with the knowledge to manage their financial futures. These innovative approaches bring fun and exciting incentives for students to participate in daily and alternative forms of education and build life skills.”

The partnership between CapWay and BeGreat Together was ideal from the beginning. CapWay has a financial focus, while BeGreat Together aims to bridge economic investment and gaps in access to opportunity for K-12 public school students. The aim is to put resources in the hands of public school leaders and students who know what they need the most. The mission of both made the two organizations a perfect match for the Food and Finance program. Over the past two years BeGreat Together, through public support, has invested a total of $50,000 in K-12 public school programs, bringing exposure.