Our Impact
Impact
Between June 2025 and July 2026
From its earliest days, The Niche Clinic has distinguished itself from other financial literacy programs.
The Niche Clinic is "experiential"
Our students learn by doing. We believe that only minimal direct instruction is needed to set young people on the path toward long-term financial success.
The Niche Clinic prioritizes student choice
To honor the contributions of the young people who sparked the idea behind our program, participants are empowered to set their own goals and chart their own path to success.
The Niche Clinic is grounded in "learn and earn"
There is no substitute for the dignity of work that is fairly compensated. We provide opportunities for young people to earn real money through internships, project-based learning, and entrepreneurship — earning a headline in MarketWatch as "The Most Innovative Financial Literacy Program in the U.S."
Research behind our approach
Decades of rigorous, peer-reviewed research demonstrates that well-designed financial education programs can improve young people's knowledge of basic financial concepts, increase their likelihood of engaging in positive financial behaviors, and reduce their susceptibility to predatory lending. TNC draws on the following literature to develop, evaluate, and refine our programming. We also contend that our program has the potential to impact youth in a manner that extends beyond financial wellbeing.
Financial Knowledge and Behavior
A meta-analysis of 76 randomized experiments with a sample size of 160,000 individuals indicated that financial education programs have, on average, positive causal treatment effects on financial knowledge and downstream financial behaviors.
Kaiser and Menkhoff, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020Experiential Learning Works Best
Other studies indicate that the impact appears strongest when financial literacy is taught using interactive, experiential methods rather than purely theoretical approaches, and when integrated with practical opportunities to apply learned concepts.
Fraser, S.P., Financial Services Review, 33(4), 48-61, 2025Diversion Programs Work
In 2010, Petrosino et al. ran a meta-analysis of 30 studies conducted over the previous 40 years that compared youth who were formally processed to youth who received diversion. The review concluded that diversion programs are effective in reducing recidivism arrest, and that they become more effective when youth also receive services like those offered by The Niche Clinic, such as transportation, connections to bank accounts, and vital document acquisition assistance.
Petrosino et al., meta-analysis of 30 studies, 2010Summer Jobs Reduce Violence
Summer jobs programs, like the one run by The Niche Clinic, can significantly reduce the chance that a youth will encounter the justice system through a violent offense.
Heller, S.B., Science, 346(6214), 2014Financial Capability Drives Violence Reduction
Improving financial capability is a key driver of violence reduction, and there is no better way to build financial capability than through a hands-on program that connects youth with financial institutions.
Muat, S., Mahdzan, N.S. and Sukor, M.E.A., Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2024Savings and Self-Efficacy = College Access
Teens who expect to graduate from a four-year college, and have designated a portion of their savings for college, are approximately three times more likely to attend college than those with no account. Research shows that an intervention like ours, combining financial access with self-efficacy supports like bank account access and coaching, produces improved self-efficacy and reduced risk-taking behavior.
Lee, Stucklin et al., Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2020Justice-involved youth who participate in The Niche Clinic are at significantly lower risk of experiencing recidivism arrest within 2 years of completing the program when compared to their non-participating peers.
The Niche Clinic in the Press
Philadelphia Inquirer
Olney High School students work, earn between $50 and $5,000 and take personal finance classes with Dan LaSalle. It's so popular he wants funding to expand the program to an entire class.
Read Article →In a north Philadelphia neighborhood where many parents don't have a bank account, a teacher started a personal-finance program that not only teaches students the importance of budgeting, saving and investing — but also gives them the opportunity to get paid up to $5,000 a year.
Read Article →