About Us
The Captain Clifford E. Smith Financial Literacy Initiative for Youth (FLI4Youth) is a community outreach effort of the Financial Empowerment Center, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. The FLI4Youth vision was created from the heart and passion of Captain Smith at the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). He has always been interested in educating youth on financial literacy, especially those in impoverished areas where access to such resources is limited.
The acronym, "D.I.R.O." (Dissect, Investigate, Regurgitate, and Operate), has taught Captain Smith the benefits of properly dissecting information with the goal of making better, more informed decisions
At FLI4Youth, our mission is to educate youth on the principles, powers, and pitfalls of finances. Our services are available to all youth regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. We strive to help students to become financially literate before the age of eighteen.
About Captain Clifford E. Smith
Born into a family of 7 children in Houston, Texas, Clifford E. Smith (Smitty) was raised by a single mother who instilled the importance of church and faith in her children from a young age. Upon adulthood and due to his family's lack of resources, Smitty had no choice but to enter the workforce to fend for himself; following suit with his older brothers.
Smitty joined the United States Air Force which brought him to California where he served his country for 3 years. After completing his service, he landed upon a job refueling aircrafts at LAX. During his time at LAX, he met his now wife of 33 years, Ola Smith. Subsequent to their convergence, they got married and welcomed their first child together.
Smitty soon realized he needed a more stable and secured source of income which resulted in him joining The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Over his career with the LAFD, he held many titles such as Firefighter, Engineer, & Staff Assistant. After thirty years with the department, he finally attained his long-term goal of becoming Fire Captain.
In between career choices, Captain Smith managed to matriculate in & out of different local colleges where he endured unimaginable hardships which includes homelessness & food insecurity. He slept where he had to & ate what he could, but was determined to attend college. He managed to overcome his hardships through hardwork and dedication.
Due to lack of resources and his upbringing, he was forced to educate himself on finances and economics through trial and error. These life experiences along with his inherent nature to serve & protect others encouraged him to continually drop nuggets of knowledge to any and every young person who offered an open ear. He believed there was no need for youth around him to experience his same lived hardships. Each generation should learn from those who paved the way prior.
Throughout his life experiences, Captain Smith learned the importance of education. “Knowledge is wealth”, says Captain Smith. For that very reason, he mandated that all of his children attend college; and that they did. He understands that not all youth are fortunate enough to have this opportunity, which is yet another reason why he advocated for the birth of FLI4Youth. Through FLI4Youth, the young generation of today is provided access to wealth synonymously known as wealth.
10 Pillars of Financial Literacy
The Ten Pillars provide the financial scaffolding upon which a life characterized by wise financial decisions will be established. No longer will a “lack of knowledge” limit the financial empowerment of youth living in the communities we serve. FLI4Youth will become a change agent on the road to financial empowerment.
Cash (Money)
Cash is something that we utilize on a daily basis but many people don't truly understand money.
Credit (Debt)
Credit is something that many people avoid. Did you know not having credit is actually worse than having bad credit.
Taxes
Benjamin Franklin said "there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes". Since we have to pay taxes we should at least understand taxes.
Insurance
Insurance is the spreading of risk across an abundance of people so that no one person takes the hit.
Saving
Everyone knows we should save money but how much should you save and why? We cover the answer to these questions in this Pillar.
Banking
Everyone looks at banks as a place to store money but what do banks do with our money and how do they make money?
Investing
What is investing and how do you invest for retirement? We cover the stock market including how to invest, stocks shares, what is a corporation and much more.
Budgeting
You can make a lot of money but if you don't know how to manage your money you may end up living outside your means. In this pillar we teach students how to plan and manage their money.
Real Estate
Real Estate is a good tangible investment and can be good for balancing an investment portfolio. We teach the basics of Real Estate in this Pillar.
Estate Planning
One aspect of finance many people forget about is planning for their passing. Without proper estate planning the government will tax a majority of your estate before passing it down.
Key Projects
For High School age students, the academy is once a week for 10 weeks. During this 10 week period we do multiple activities that demonstrate the aspects of finance that we study. Here are a couple of our projects.
Stock Market Game
The stock market game is a simulation of the stock market where the students get to trade with fake money to learn how the stock market works.
Read moreCredit Check
We teach students the difference between soft and hard credit pulls and teach them how to monitor their credit for free.
Read moreReal Estate Case Study
We explain how investment real estate works and do a case study on a real estate investor's project.
Read moreTestimonials
Tanya T
Parent
FLI4Youth has inspired teenagers to learn the power of investing and saving money. It has opened their eyes to Entrepreneurship and tax structure, it has played a solid foundation that I wish I had at their age.
Rae M
Parent
Because of this class, Imani can gain knowledge & understanding of finances, how to invest as well as save. It’s things that I personally have tried and wasn’t able to gain her interest in learning from myself... This class is showing our youth so much more then what the eye can see, ... In all I want to say it’s opened my eyes to so much more then I thought this class would bring for my child,
Abner F
Parent
This Financial Literacy Class has established fundamental information that nourishes insightful detail for a firm foundation on ten pillars of financial topics. In the same way that people need to understand vocabulary to speak a new language, these students have an advantage among their peers in the future.
Our Team
Kenny Smith
President
Dachell Jefferson
Secretary
DaVaughn Smith
Director of CommunicationsOur Sponsors
We have multiple companies that donate to FLI4Youth. If you would like your company to be recognized in this section please contact us.
Contact Us
16654 Soledad Canyon Rd #354, Santa Clarita, CA 91387
info@fli4youth.org
+1 661.362.8900