Asenath King has big plans for her future, a to-do list that includes studying business and pre-law as an Ohio State University freshman. Law school, a career as a corporate attorney, and world travel are all on the horizon for King as she enters the next phase of her education.
As dreams come with a cost, it’s not enough to just make money – you have to build wealth as well. An area nonprofit is teaching King – along with other young people from underserved Cleveland communities – a foundational understanding of finance that will, ideally, support them their entire lives.
Breadwinners Academy, a 501(c)(3) founded by John F. Kennedy High School alum Jason Lockett, imparts the saving, budgeting and investing skills critical for breaking generational cycles of poverty.
King, a Heights High School graduate, took Breadwinners’ curriculum last year, coming away with a far deeper understanding of finance than she had previously.
“I knew the basics about savings and budgeting, but it was a surface-level understanding,” says King. “I didn’t understand the concept of building wealth. I’m not a math person, so it was hard, but I got the hang of it.”
Lockett knows these challenges first-hand, as he was introduced to the complex world of 401(k)s, Roth IRAs and HSAS only when onboarding for his first professional job, a marketing position with a regional manufacturing company. Growing up on Cleveland’s East Side, a Cleveland community challenged by poverty and disinvestment, further demonstrated how unprepared some people were to manage their financial health.
“How can you build wealth and set up your family for success?” says Lockett, a father of two now. “It’s about having an understanding of investing, the element of compound interest, and being disciplined with creating a plan and sticking to it.”
After graduating from Notre Dame College in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Lockett became a certified financial planner. His own journey served as a powerful teaching tool for his clients, he says.
Lockett’s struggles with asthma in college led to emergency room visits that drained his savings and eventually caused his credit score to fall into the 400s. Trying to buy a new car was an unfortunate eye-opener for Lockett, who realized just how little he knew about managing money.
“I didn’t get the vehicle because of a high interest rate – that was the point I said I had to fix all this,” Lockett says. “I didn’t understand how money worked, or how credit worked, and it still happens today where people don’t know how those things work.”
Breaking from the ‘poverty mindset’
Lockett launched Breadwinners in 2022, reaching youth from low- to moderate-income Cleveland neighborhoods through collaborations with area schools and nonprofit partners like Youth Opportunities Unlimited. Approximately 450 students each year learn about saving, budgeting, banking, and credit, and even get to open their own bank and brokerage accounts as part of the process.
The academy offers free, hands-on learning taught by recent college grads and mid-career professionals, with classes taking place on site at partnering high schools. Programming is funded by schools, individual donors and foundational grants, says Lockett.
Taking real action – whether devising a budget or learning a bank’s inner workings – is vital in extricating students from what Lockett calls the “poverty mindset.” Lockett observed this mentality growing up, noting a tendency among people to spend money as soon as the paycheck cleared. A social media-fueled era of instant gratification has only aggravated the problem, he adds.
“Part of this mindset is showing you have money when you don’t,” says Lockett. “Kids will spend $250 on the new Air Jordans, but you have to start investing, rather than just wanting something now. Delayed gratification is not flashy or sexy.”
Lockett’s students are aged 12-19, meaning their eyes would likely glaze over when presented with spreadsheets or Power Point presentations. To make instruction relatable, classes focus on daily behaviors, particularly the ongoing battle between “need” and “want.”
“We create these different scenarios, like what’s suitable for a first date, Chick-fil-A or Longhorn Steakhouse,” says Lockett. “Or other financial vices that are relatable to students.”
Such intimate training is not readily available in high school, at least not beyond a few rudimentary ideas, says Breadwinners graduate King. Through the academy, King learned enough about building credit to pass that knowledge along to older family members.
“They didn’t have this information in previous generations,” King says. “It’s not just about learning the concepts, but having a system. Programs like Breadwinners would be great for all students, and adults, too. People think it starts around saving money, but there’s more to it than that, especially when you want to build something.”
Navigating long-term, complex money management issues can be overwhelming for people not accustomed to it. Yet, Lockett believes that planning a bright financial future does not have to be frightening.
“Open a bank account, and start saving even if it’s a little bit,” says Lockett. “What we do is more than about financial literacy. It’s about hope, access and generational wealth. A future of possibilities should be the norm, not the exception.”
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