Attorney Nathaniel Haugabrook II, president emeritus of 100 Black Men of Valdosta Inc., is the chairman of the Dollars and $ense Investment Education Program for the national organization of 100 Black Men of America Inc. In

collaboration with State Farm Insurance, The 100 established and implemented the Dollars and $ense Program to address and help eradicate financial illiteracy among youth of color.

Haugabrook has chaired this national event for more than a decade. 

“The programmatic goal is to help students become economically empowered at an early age,” he said. “This program is an initiative of the Economic Empowerment Committee of The 100 and implemented by 100 Black Men chapters across the country and internationally.”

Through a competitive request for proposals process, grants are awarded to chapters to teach the Dollars and $ense curriculum, Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

This rigorous financial literacy program was designed to provide high school students with early opportunities to learn and apply best practice principles for saving and investing.

Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom is a 12-week curriculum that offers a trove of sound and surprising advice about climbing the economic ladder, even when the odds seem stacked against you. The 100 Black Men chapter participants further enhance the Dollars and $ense program for students through experiential learning such as virtual trips, guest speakers, reading materials, and games.

The 15 100 Black Men chapters that participated this year must submit an eight-minute video presentation for the preliminary round. Each chapter will identify a team of two students from their program to present financial portfolios during the video presentations. The video presentations will be submitted to a panel of five judges for evaluation. The judges, financial experts with various financial institutions, will evaluate the students’ understanding of investment concepts, strategies and products to determine the three teams who will advance to the championship round. The top three highest scoring teams will advance to the championship competition to compete for the national title.

“The level of financial knowledge the students demonstrate as they analyze a real-life (financial) scenario” drafted by Haugabrook “is nothing short of  spectacular.” As Haugabrook observed the presentation of the three teams competing in this year’s championship round, “the teams demonstrated creativity and professional, financial advice to aid their fictitious client amass a $3 million portfolio by the age of 30,” he said

When asked why he has chaired the program for more than a decade, Haugabrook said: “This financial literacy program and national competition not only educates our youth with financial principles, but also provides the tools for financial freedom to youth and generations that follow. We must start educating our youth early if they are to have a fighting chance at enjoying the American dream, creating generational wealth and effectuating change within their own families and communities. The financial plight facing many families does not discriminate; however, the plight impacts some communities more than others. It is the goal of The 100 to educate our youth and provide the tools they need to help them reach their highest potential in life.”

All Dollars and $ense annual contestants are considered winners and each receives recognition and prizes. Post-secondary scholarships are awarded to each competing member of the winning teams: $3,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

The 100 hosts the Dollars and $ense Youth Competition during its annual conference each year in June. The 2026 championship competition will be held during the 40th annual conference, which is currently scheduled for June 17-21, 2026, at the Hilton Midtown in New York City.