AFE

What AFE does

The Association of Financial Educators (AFE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational bureau founded in 2008 in Austin, Texas, by Kevin C. Crown and Brian P. McCarthy. Its core product is a catalog of more than 150 free financial education workshops covering budgeting, money management, investment strategies, retirement planning, and advanced estate planning, delivered either on-site at corporate and organizational settings or virtually via webinar platforms in 30-to-45-minute sessions. The organization serves corporate employers across manufacturing, government, education, and legal services (named customers include Superior Graphite Co, Koroseal Interior Products, Boston Redevelopment Authority, University of Connecticut, Cantor Colburn LLP, and Crescent Industries Inc) as well as employees and their families who attend the workshops. Workshops, materials, and follow-up consultations are provided at no cost to companies, employees, or families, with members strictly prohibited from selling products or endorsing financial offerings.

AFE operates as a volunteer-driven, community-led model rather than a technology platform. Member financial professionals — drawn from dozens of fields including investing, estate planning, accounting, tax, real estate, and law — deliver the workshops and are bound by a Code of Conduct requiring transparency, accountability, and integrity. The organization itself does not appear to operate a proprietary software product; its underlying infrastructure is website-based marketing and a contact-form intake process routed to local member-educators. Revenue is sustained primarily through recurring member dues paid by financial professionals, supplemented by federal government and private organization grants in the form of materials, training, and funding, predicated on AFE's ability to reach broad populations with financial education.

The organization functions as a market participant in the workplace financial wellness category, operating exclusively across North America with no disclosed international footprint, no app, no API surface, and no disclosed headcount or revenue figures. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via website inquiry and word-of-mouth referrals among employers, with delivery executed through the volunteer educator network. Strategic positioning relies on its nonprofit status and independence from financial institutions to deliver unbiased, free financial education as the primary differentiator against paid commercial alternatives.

Name

AFE

Legal name

Association of Financial Educators

Website

https://afe-usa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Association of Financial Educators (AFE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2008 that delivers free, unbiased financial literacy workshops on-site or virtually to corporate employers, government agencies, and organizations across North America, taught by a volunteer network of credentialed financial professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workplace Financial Wellness Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Financial education workshops
• Workplace financial wellness
• Financial literacy programs
• Nonprofit financial education
• Employee money management

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: AFE is primarily supported by dues paid by members. Financial professionals pay membership dues in return for access to AFE's materials, resources, and the opportunity to teach workshops. This provides a recurring revenue stream for the organization's operations.
2. Government and Private Organization Support: AFE receives materials, training, and grants from the federal government and private organizations. These partnerships are predicated on AFE's ability to reach as many people as possible with financial education programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AFE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational bureau that delivers free financial education workshops to companies and organizations across North America. Workshops are taught by volunteer member financial professionals covering 150+ topics across budgeting, investing, estate planning, retirement, tax, and other financial areas. Delivery occurs on-site at employer locations or virtually via webinar, with AFE handling needs analysis, material preparation, teaching, and follow-up.

Product overview

AFE offers a single unified service providing free financial education workshops. The core offering is a comprehensive workshop program with over 150 topics spanning Financial Tools, Building Your Financial Foundation, Financial Planning (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced), and Specialized Planning categories. Services include customizable workshops, in-person and virtual delivery formats, materials provision, and follow-up support including free private consultations for participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Education Workshops Over 150 free financial education workshops covering topics from basic budgeting and money management to advanced estate planning and investment strategies, delivered on-site at corporate settings or virtually via webinar platforms in 30-45 minute sessions by volunteer member financial professionals. Targeted at companies and organizations seeking to provide financial wellness programming to employees and their families.

Quantifiable outcome

• Workers who participated in AFE-style programs increased expected retirement income by an extra $905 per month (Principal Financial Group study)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Federal GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008AFE works with the federal government to offer free financial wellness programs to organizations and businesses across the country. Government partnerships provide AFE with materials, training, and grants in exchange for AFE's ability to reach broad populations with financial education.
• Private OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFE works with private organizations to expand access to free financial education. These relationships are predicated on AFE's ability to reach as many people as possible, with support coming in the form of materials, training, and grants.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SmartPath: SmartPath delivers financial wellness education and 1-on-1 coaching to employees at companies of all sizes, overlapping directly with AFE's employer-focused financial literacy workshop offering. Both compete to be the embedded financial wellness benefit.
• LearnLux: LearnLux provides a digital financial wellness platform combining education, planning tools, and coaching for employer benefits packages, serving the same employee-financial-literacy pain point as AFE through workplace deployments.
• Financial Finesse: Financial Finesse delivers workplace financial wellness programs including workshops, coaching, and online learning to employers, occupying the same vendor seat in benefits packages that AFE targets with its free workshops.
• Enrich Financial Wellness: Enrich offers financial wellness workshops, webinars, and 1:1 coaching as an employer benefit; it is a directly competitive educational delivery model to AFE's free on-site and webinar workshops.
• GreenPath Financial Wellness: GreenPath provides financial counseling, education, and debt management services to consumers and through employer/partner channels; its educational programming overlaps with AFE's employer-delivered literacy workshops.
• BALANCE Financial Fitness: BALANCE (formerly Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco) offers employer-sponsored financial wellness workshops and webinars, mirroring AFE's free workshop delivery into workplaces.

Broad incumbents

• Prudential Financial Wellness: Prudential offers employer-based financial wellness programs including seminars, tools, and education through its group insurance and retirement businesses, competing for the same HR-led benefits budget as AFE.
• Dave Ramsey Solutions: Ramsey Solutions sells Financial Peace University and employer financial wellness programs to corporate clients, competing with AFE in the workplace financial education category but as a larger, branded commercial incumbent.
• Fidelity Workplace Financial Education: Fidelity bundles extensive financial education content and workshops into its 401(k) and benefits offerings, providing a deep-pocketed incumbent alternative to AFE for employers seeking workplace financial wellness.

Others

• National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE): NEFE is a nonprofit foundation advancing financial education research and resources; it is mission-aligned with AFE and frequently cited in employer financial wellness planning, though it focuses on research/grant-making rather than direct workshop delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AssociationofFinancialEducators
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afe-the-association-of-financial-educators

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFE