The Magnetar Capital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Magnetar Capital, an alternative asset manager, has announced a $5 million grant to the UChicago STEM Education program at the University of Chicago in support of efforts to teach money management skills to area high school students.

UChicago STEM Education will use the grant to expand a financial education program at the Magnetar Youth Investment Academy, which was created by the foundation in 2011 to provide a financial education curriculum and teacher training in Chicago-area high schools. Since then, the program has reached nearly six thousand students and expanded from two high schools to fifty high schools and a hundred and fifty classrooms. UChicago STEM will oversee and administer the project and will continue to design, develop, and refine a flexible set of tools designed to help teachers deliver financial management lessons to their students. In addition, the university's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will collaborate with Magnetar and UChicago STEM to ensure that the curriculum is available to any student or teacher who wishes to use it.

"We are excited to work with Magnetar in growing this program," said UChicago STEM Education executive director Andy Isaacs. "We have a rich history of working with educators and administrators from Chicago and across the country in evaluating and building models and tools that improve pre-college education. Through our multiple platforms and broad networks of educators and institutions, we can expand the reach and impact of Magnetar's program."