Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the venture arm of Milwaukee-based life insurance and financial management company Northwestern Mutual, is investing in Goalsetter, a Black-owned mobile banking app.

The New York City-based company’s finance app is designed to promote financial literacy among youth and help families save money toward goals, such as vacations or college funds.

Goalsetter recently announced it has secured $3.9 million from investors in a seed round. Other investors in the Brooklyn company include NBA players Kevin Durant and Chris Paul, former New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers pitcher C.C. Sabathia, Astia, PNC Bank, Mastercard, U.S. Bank, Elevate Capital, Portfolia Rising America, and Pipeline Angels.

In November of 2020, Northwestern Mutual announced it would dedicate $20 million to investing in startup companies founded by Black entrepreneurs in Milwaukee and across the nation. Future Ventures will invest in Black-owned startups focused on financial services technology, digital health, data analytics and user experience.

CEO Tanya Van Court

“As the only Black-woman owned fintech company focused on the kid’s fintech space, we know how critical early finance education is to all kids in our country, and to Black and Brown kids in particular,” said Tanya Van Court, CEO and founder of Goalsetter, in a statement about the funding round. “Despite an increasing buying power, our Black and Latino communities are trending towards negative worth. Now is the time to teach our children to become smart spenders instead of conspicuous consumers. Goalsetter does this by teaching them that financial education, saving, and investing are the building blocks for achieving generational wealth,” she added.

Through Future Ventures, Northwestern Mutual, which reported revenue of $29.9 billion in 2019, has invested in more than a dozen companies focused on financial service technology, customer experience, digital health and data analytics. Deals from Future Ventures range from $500,000 to $5 million and will typically begin in Series A or B funding rounds.