Ready to jump-start your financial education programs?
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EmailSpark an interest in personal finance using these resources.
Are you interested in incorporating financial education into your youth groups or clubs? Are you looking for fun, hands-on, age appropriate activities that teach young people about money, budgeting, investing and saving? Would you like new ideas you can use to teach your child to be more consumer savvy? Whether you’re a parent, teacher, volunteer or youth development worker, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has resources you can use to spur and spark an interest in money management.
What is the Jump$tart Coalition? As described on the national website, “it is an organization of organizations that share a commitment to advancing financial literacy among pre-school through college-age youth and working collaboratively toward effective financial education.” The National Jump$tart Coalition, formed in 1995, is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Currently, the coalition has 150 national partners from business, financial, nonprofit, government, academic and other sectors. It is also home to an online clearinghouse of financial resources appropriate for students in pre-school through college.
In addition to the National Jump$tart Coalition, there are 49 affiliated state coalitions. Michigan Jump$tart Coalition's was formed in 2000 when more than 30 organizations, including Michigan State University Extension, joined forces to focus on a similar mission: to improve personal financial literacy for Michigan's children and youth. Today, they strive to fulfill their mission by achieving a wide range of goals:
- Increase public and educator awareness.
- Facilitate business community involvement.
- Promote teaching of personal finance.
- Promote teacher education.
For those individuals and organizations in Michigan who share this mission, you can become involved in the coalition as a member, sponsor or by attending events. Each December, the coalition holds an annual conference. In 2014, the conference will be on December 10 at the Detroit branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. It is not too late to register and partake in this great opportunity to network with others, learn about new curriculum, hear about best practices and experience a hands-on tech workshop.
With so many national and state coalition partners, initiatives, events and online resources, Jump$tart can make teaching personal finance to young people fun and fulfilling.
