15 Year Reflection: Curt Culver
Curt Culver speaks at the 2017 Investment Conference
When SecureFutures founder Lloyd Levin had the inspiration to build an organization focused on teen financial literacy, one of the first people he sought out was Curt Culver. At the time, Curt was CEO at MGIC and already a well-known and respected leader in the Milwaukee business community. Curt was expecting Lloyd to come to him with a problem to solve; instead, Lloyd came with a solution.
“Lloyd was a MGIC customer, and usually when a customer came to see me it was about a claim problem,” Curt said. “But there was no problem, he wanted to see me to explain this idea he had about teaching young people about personal finance. Well, he had an eager audience in yours truly.”
Curt was acutely aware of the need for financial education for young people, knowledge that came from his decades of serving as a lecturer at UW-Madison in the Business School. He was “stunned about the lack of personal finance knowledge the students had.”
“In talking with the students I learned high schools no longer provided such an education, so where were they to go to get such knowledge on interest rates, budgeting, bank accounts, mortgages, insurance? Enter Lloyd, Brenda and the Secure Futures team! And as they say, the rest was history.”
As an early financial backer, consistent donor, and long-serving member of the SecureFutures Advisory Council, Curt has been an integral part of that history, providing consultation, inspiration, and ongoing support to the organization every step of the way. One year, he was a speaker at an appreciation event for SecureFutures volunteers, sharing the five principles he lives by: humor, health, honesty, hustle, and humility. Through his service to SecureFutures, Curt continues to embody these principles, offering an example of how to be a business leader who truly cares about his community.
“Financial literacy is one of the single most important gifts we can provide our young people, as it touches all aspects of their lives regardless of their financial position,” said Curt. “I’m proud to be associated with SecureFutures as it truly makes a difference in our youth by giving them the tools to understand the implications of their financial decisions.”
