Money Skills for Real Life: Gear Up College was prepared specifically for the NCCEP, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, as a public service by the Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®); Theodore (Ted) Beck, President and CEO; Brent A. Neiser, CFP, Director of Collaborative Programs; and Mary J. Schultz, Project Manager of Collaborative Programs.

The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) is an independent nonprofit organization committed to educating Americans about personal finance and empowering them to make positive, sound decisions to reach their financial goals. The National Endowment for Financial Education, NEFE, and the NEFE logo are federally registered service marks of the National Endowment for Financial Education. For more information about the National Endowment for Financial Education, visit www.nefe.org.

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal grant program that provides six-year grants to education/community partnerships and states to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Serving an entire cohort of students beginning no later than the seventh grade, GEAR UP provides services at high-poverty middle and high schools and college scholarships to low-income students. For more information about GEAR UP, please view the U.S. Department of Education GEAR UP website.

The National Council for Community and Education Partnerships' (NCCEP) mission is to develop and strengthen broadbased partnerships throughout the education continuum, from early childhood through postsecondary education. NCCEP seeks to help improve public K–16 education by creating education/community partnerships, linking schools and communities, developing new research-based college access programs, and supporting the implementation of proven educational strategies. For more information, please visit http://www.edpartnerships.org.