NEW YORK (April 8, 2015) — Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) today announced a new, multi-year partnership with Toyota Financial Services (TFS), which has pledged $2.1 million to help girls become self-reliant, financially literate, and capable of leveraging their talent, resources, and personal business values to build a stronger economy and healthier communities. When young people understand the value of properly managing personal finances, they are better prepared for the realities of adult life. Yet less than half the states in the U.S. offer financial education in schools.  
 
With the launch of “Driving My Financial Future,” GSUSA and TFS will empower 26,000 underserved girls across the country with tools and resources necessary not only to feel confident in their financial decisions but also to build financial capability.
 
According to the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), girls clearly desire financial empowerment skills to help them achieve their dreams. In fact, 90 percent say it is important for them to learn how to manage money and 68 percent are interested in learning about how to save money and plan for the future. Girls are extremely optimistic about their futures but admit to lacking the financial confidence and knowledge they need to achieve their dreams.
 
”At Girl Scouts, we have always known that financial literacy is a crucial component of building leadership skills in girls,” said Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. “Programs like our iconic Girl Scout Cookie Program are designed to provide girls with the tools they need to be financially savvy leaders in their own lives. Through this terrific new partnership with Toyota Financial Services, we will now be able to extend the reach of our financial literacy programming to more than 20,000 underserved girls who will use their new skills to make their communities and their world a better place.”
 
Through Driving My Financial Future, TFS will conduct financial empowerment events nationwide with TFS volunteers; provide college scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $20,000; and offer the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting handbooks to new Girl Scouts in 10 councils across the country, which volunteers can then use to help girls earn their financial literacy badges and a Toyota participation patch. In the spirit of Financial Literacy Month, the program’s national kickoff will be held in Los Angeles on April 16, 2015, at the Toyota Campus in Torrance, California, with 140 local Girl Scouts and hundreds of TFS volunteers.
 
“With its unique ability to provide fun, experiential learning, the Girl Scout organization offers TFS a real opportunity to bring “Driving My Financial Future” to tens of thousands of young people across the country, and particularly to those in underserved communities,” said Mike Groff, president and CEO of Toyota Financial Services.
 
TFS is offering its customers a way to support Girl Scouts as well. On April 1 TFS launched its “Go Green Campaign,” for which TFS will contribute $5 to GSUSA for each customer who elects paperless billing statements between April 1 and May 31, with a maximum donation of $200,000.