Financial education is one of the most appropriate ways that credit unions can fulfill their mission and help enrich the financial lives of their members and community members. Access to reliable financial information and advice is especially important as personal financial decisions become increasingly complicated and economic challenges abound. Financial education contributes to a stronger local economy, community goodwill and member loyalty.
Money management is a learned skill. Credit unions should be the trusted source to turn to for financial education to help consumers make sense of the ever changing financial challenges they face.
Financial Literacy Group & Blog: Join Us at CU Campus! This group has been created as a place for credit union professionals to share and exchange thoughts and ideas on the subject of Financial Literacy.
Send financial literacy event information to Beth Troost at bat@mcul.org to include in this listing. Community partners such as United Way and Habitat for Humanity will use this listing to refer community members to financial education events.
- Money Smart Week April 18-25, 2009: Click here for a listing of the 68 credit union financial literacy events scheduled statewide as part of this year's money smart week.
- Financial Literacy Legislative Challenge: The 6th annual Financial Literacy Legislative Challenge is a cooperative effort aimed at educating young people about responsible money management throughout April, which is National Financial Literacy Month. This event partners Michigan lawmakers with credit unions and schools in their district to spread sound financial skills to students of all ages. Participating lawmakers and credit unions team up for a financial literacy event in the classroom, at a student credit union, or at a credit union youth week event.
Help your employees enjoy financial well-being, improve your bottom line, and improve your member service at the same time by providing an employee financial education program! Employees who understand and utilize basic money management concepts are happier and healthier and are able to better understand and serve members. This course is recommended for all employees as part of orientation and training and may be customized with your credit union product and benefit information. Click here for more information and instructions. Click here to download the complete course with PowerPoint, instructor notes, handouts and activities. Note, this is a zipped folder - see instructions to extract the files.
Reach out to your members and community members with financial education seminars. A variety of ready to go seminars are available in the CUNA “Seminars-in-a-Box” series. Free adult presentations will soon be added to the “Financial Literacy in a Box” series initiated by the MCUL Financial Education Council. GreenPath has many financial education workshops; you can choose to purchase these to present yourself or invite a GreenPath speaker to make the presentation.
Personal financial counseling is one of the best ways to help improve the financial lives of your members. CUNA Schools offers a “Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor” course for staff. Telephone financial counseling can be provided by ACCEL.
Beth Troost can help you get started or increase your financial education training for both adults and youth. Contact Beth with questions or requests for assistance with training, seminars, community partners and student credit unions. bat@mcul.org (800)262-6285, ext. 453
Michigan credit unions are battling youth financial illiteracy one classroom at a time. They lead their peers across the nation in financial literacy outreach, teaching more than 42,000 students annually. Michigan credit unions are also leaders in-school, credit union branches, with some 306-student run branches in school districts across the state. These branches provide outstanding opportunities for kids to learn about the importance of money management skills as well as the chance to garner job skills.
Michigan credit unions lead the industry in financial literacy outreach, but their efforts aren't enough. There's a crisis in financial education in our country and a need for leadership in combating it high school seniors will graduate with few of the personal financial skills they need to support themselves. This according to a survey released on April 5, 2006 by the National Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. Michigan youth are no exception. Most Michigan high school students graduate with few of the personal financial skills they need to support themselves, according to the 2001 Michigan Jump$tart Coalition survey.
Credit unions engage in a number of activities that support youth financial literacy, whether volunteering in classrooms, operating student branches or supporting organizations that foster financial literacy. The MCUL, along with 29 other credit unions and the Metro East Chapter, support Exchange City, a 20,800-square foot learning facility in the Metro-Detroit community of Taylor. The mock city features a newspaper, radio/TV station, post office, city hall, an array of merchandisers and its own credit union. The program combines classroom instruction with a rare opportunity to run a city for day.
Under the guidance of the MCUL Financial Education Council, 22 credit unions offered the Financially Made program, a savings and youth financial education program that educated more than 80 kids on budgeting, saving and the wise use of credit. The credit unions together committed $15,000 in matching savings funds for participating students.
If you’re not involved in the movement to educate our youth about personal finance, or you want to expand your efforts, there are a number of resources available to help credit unions expand their youth financial literacy outreach.
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