Honoring Juneteenth by Creating A Future for Black Youth
Black people living in America have long dealt with economic hardship brought on by the systemic racism that plagues our country. “Studies have shown that White Americans have 10 times the net worth of Black Americans, and Black Americans are projected to have a negative net worth by 2053,” says Tanya Van Court, #BlogHer15 Pitch participant and Founder & CEO of Goalsetter. “Young people who have savings accounts in their names – no matter how much is in them — are six times more likely to go to college and four times more likely to own stocks as young adults. Our job as a community is to show young people the way forward.”
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Tonya Van Court created Goalsetter, a family saving platform, to make it easy and fun for kids to save for their futures. Their subsequent GoalCards program enables friends and families to give the gift of savings, instead of gift cards on birthdays and holidays, so GoalCard recipients can receive real money towards real dreams in an FDIC-insured account. The company has launched a campaign and social media initiative called #SavingOurSelves with the mission of getting one million Black youth to sign up for savings accounts with the Goalsetter app.
Imagine a world where black boys and girls don’t have to worry about funding for attending the university of their choice, cash to use toward their future business, or savings to fund whatever endeavor best serves them and their passions? Thanks to Tanya’s initiative, the world can inch a little closer to a brighter future. To learn how you can participate in Goalsetter’s Juneteenth initiative, read on!
How to Support a Child You Know:
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Visit Goalsetter.co.
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Click the yellow “GIVE A GIFT” button in the upper-right hand corner.
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Search for the child you’d like to send the gift to. If they do not have a Goalsetter account to add to, you’ll still be able to send your gift.
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Customize your GoalCard! You can choose the gift amount, name, email, when the card will be sent out, a cute design, a special message for that person, and more.
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Enter your credit card information and boom! Gift is sent.
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The child receiving your generous gift will get a text, email, or app notification from Goalsetter.
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They will be prompted to set up a Goalsetter account and the gift will then be deposited into an FDIC-insured savings account.
How to Help Support Black Children Everywhere:
If you want to support an underprivileged Black child and seed a savings account for them, please consider donating to Goalsetter’s non-profit GoFundMe campaign.
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In addition to partnering with a plethora of community organizations and nonprofits to support the initiative, Goalsetter is partnering with Black TikTok influencers during their “Blackout” on Juneteenth to spread the word about the #SavingOurSelves campaign, and encourage their followers to create savings accounts through the Goalsetter app.
Skai Beauty, TikTok Creator, and student at the Historically Black College & University (HBCU) Florida A&M University (FAMU) says “Black Lives Matter is the top trending hashtag on TikTok. That means that Black creators are fueling the economy of TikTok yet are not able to participate in that wealth creation. We are spreading the word about this movement because financial freedom can only be achieved if Black people learn to build wealth as early as possible and are able to participate equally in the wealth that we create.”
We had the privilege of catching up with the woman behind the platform, Tanya Van Court. Check out our interview with her below!
Hi Tanya! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. How are you personally remembering and celebrating Juneteenth this year?
I’m so glad you asked. I’m joining my friend Vince Adams, who is an amazing DJ, and for a virtual party. Goalsetter is sponsoring the party and Vince is inviting all of his fellow HBCU graduates to join the party.
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From your impressive background, I can see that you’re the type of person who gets stuff done! What advice do you have for future businesswomen?
Don’t let obstacles become barriers. No one doing anything worthwhile has an easy path. I know billionaires who get 4 hours of sleep a night and are often frustrated by the world not moving as quickly as they want it to. Accomplishing something important requires both sacrifice and patience, but also a great deal of tenacity. And having all three of those attributes is something that you perfect over time, not something that’s predestined.
What sparked the #SavingOurSelves Campaign, and how do you plan to continue the initiative long-term?
The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked the entire world to acknowledge Juneteenth in a way that it has never been acknowledged. So, we wanted to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday in a meaningful way. When the slaves were finally told they were free 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1865, they might have been physically free, but they certainly were not financially free. And 150 years later, the storyline is the same – freedom should not be defined in this country by the ability to walk down the street and not get shot. It should be defined by a person’s ability to experience every dimension of American life in equal measure as their neighbor.
We couldn’t think of anything more meaningful than celebrating Freedom by helping to advance Freedom for the next generation of Black children. By helping them to achieve Financial Freedom, we are helping to ensure that they can truly live free and whole lives, and enjoy the same America that their non-Black counterparts enjoy.
What message do you have for Black content creators right now?
Black content creators are at the forefront of driving eyeballs, traffic, conversations, and trends. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is the top trending topic on TikTok with 11.2 BILLION impressions. That’s 11.2 billion conversations that are helping to build a company, helping them get venture funding, and eventually helping the executives and investors of that company to cash out for millions upon millions of dollars. The question that Black content creators need to ask is how they participate in the economy of every platform they support. It’s not enough for Black content creators to be hidden fuel that is stoking America’s Wall Street fire. Black creators need to collectively organize and ensure that every platform they use – including TikTok — has a plan for helping them to share in the wealth that they are creating for others.
A big thank you to Tanya and everyone who is part of the #SavingOurSelves Campaign.
