First Command Financial Services, Inc., has awarded $250,000 to First Command Educational Foundation’s financial literacy program for Texas high school students, paving the way for a national expansion of this important initiative.

Called Money Matters, the free program provides educators with a complete financial literacy curriculum approved by the Texas State Board of Education. It meets all the requirements of the unfunded mandate from the State of Texas to educate high school students in financial literacy before graduation. Money Matters is already being used by 20,000 students in classrooms across North Texas. As lead title sponsor, First Command Financial Services will help to extend the reach of this important educational program to the rest of Texas and the nation.

First Command’s $250,000 gift will help expand Money Matters to serve more than 185,000 Texas high school students during the 2010-2011 school year and finance a nationwide outreach beginning in August 2012.

“Our decision to fund a national expansion of this educational program is particularly important in light of the recent economic turmoil,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command. “In our role as financial coaches, we are seeing a new generation learn and commit to sound financial management behaviors and discover the value of a more frugal way of life. Through our sponsorship of Money Matters, we are reaffirming our long-standing commitment to foster financial literacy and responsibility in American families.”

Money Matters is an ideal fit for First Command Financial Services, which has a long-standing commitment to fostering financial literacy and responsibility in children. In the company’s “Teaching Our Children About Money” program, First Command Financial Advisors share the various approaches they take when discussing money with their minor and adult offspring.

In addition to supporting Money Matters, First Command Financial Services provides significant monetary support for the Foundation’s various efforts to promote fiscal responsibility as well as its long-standing college scholarship program. In partnership with the Foundation, First Command Financial Advisors award thousands of dollars every year to students pursuing degrees in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Since 1983, the Foundation has awarded almost $4 million in scholarship grants to help offset the costs of higher education and educated thousands of individuals on numerous financial literacy topics.

First Command Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is not affiliated with First Command Financial Services, Inc., or any of its affiliated entities.