There are countless hazards that homeowner insurance policies cover against, and believe it or not, that includes debris falling from space. That’s good news for Naples, Florida resident Alejandro Otero, whose home was damaged in March by space garbage discarded into the earth’s atmosphere. Otero’s house was hit by a piece of cargo the size of a smartphone that tore through his roof and made a large hole in the floor. It turns out that NASA seriously miscalculated when they believed that a 5.8K-pound robotic arm purposely discarded from the International Space Station would be incinerated before ever reaching the Earth.While it would be impossible to prepare for every possible scenario in life, one area where financial institutions do have the ability to help is arming teenagers for future financial literacy.Early Financial LiteracyAccording to research from Ramsey Solutions, 88% of adults in the US say they were not prepared to manage money when they were in high school; the majority believe that if they had been, they would be in better financial shape. With the COVID-19 pandemic heightening awareness of the need for better financial literacy, people are ready to embrace such offerings — particularly when it comes to their children. Partnering with local high schools on financial literacy programming is a great way for community financial institutions (CFIs) to build brand awareness among the next generation of financial customers and foster goodwill with their parents. High school financial literacy partnerships provide an avenue for you to boost your CFI’s visibility by demonstrating their concern for individuals within their local communities. Establishing relationships with high school students also paves the way for you to bring those students on as customers before they head off to college and even lay the groundwork for future recruiting.Multiple Avenues of EducationPartnerships with local high schools can be achieved through several methods. In some cases, CFIs may simply want to work with educators to provide supplemental education for students. This can include having bank professionals work with teachers to give presentations during school hours or creating supplemental online educational offerings that can be used by schools and teachers at any time. There’s even a program for younger kids, offered by the American Bankers Association Foundation. The foundation provides lessons and PowerPoint presentations bankers can use for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Online apps and offerings are another route CFIs can take, partnering with programs such as Banzai, a free interactive financial education platform. That’s the approach that Minnesota’s Currie State Bank has taken. The bank provides six local schools with access to Banzai, supplementing the platform with in-class presentations on timely financial topics from experts in the community. But a growing number of banks are going a step further by launching on-campus student banks that are actually run by students, with oversight from bank employees.Hands-On Approaches to Financial LiteracySeveral banks and credit unions have opened in-school CFIs, located anywhere from unused closets to cafeterias, that allow students to open real-world bank accounts so they can learn how to save and manage money in real life. Such banks are typically open just a few hours on specific days, but they are run by students with assistance from a bank employee — and often teachers at the school as well. Depending on how a bank is set up, student workers can receive class credits, small payments, or even scholarship money. When such programs are launched within communities with large unbanked populations, they can also be an avenue to bringing on new customers through the parent community.Here are just a few examples of CFIs across the US that successfully work with high schools to increase student financial literacy:
- Internships lead to future employees. South Carolina’s Greenville Federal Credit Union helped create two student locations within local high schools. In addition to providing students the opportunity to work at the branches, the CFI offers paid 100-hour internships to honors students, during which they can learn more about banking by working alongside bank employees during the summer. Not only has the program helped to educate kids within the schools about finances, but the CFI has also hired permanent employees from the program.
- School bank program fosters recruiting. Connecticut’s Windsor Federal Savings helped create branches in two majority-minority high schools within its community. Though the program was created to help foster financial literacy, the CFI has found it to be a great recruiting resource as well; Windsor has hired 22 of the students who have worked in the high school branches.
- Credit union awards scholarships. The Credit Union of Texas has created branches within three Dallas, Texas, high schools. Interested students learn about financial literacy, banking, and even marketing before they are allowed to start working in the branches. Students who work in the program for a year receive $1K scholarships.
- In-school bank yields long-term customers. Reading Cooperative Bank, which has created bank branches within two high schools in Reading, Massachusetts, has also used its program to create long-term ties with students. As part of the in-school branches the bank has created, students have access to its banking app, which has helped the bank seed long-term banking relationships with the kids before they graduate and start the next stage of their lives. “Ever since we launched our mobile app, we have not seen those seniors leaving us when they leave the community,” said Julieann Thurlow, president and CEO of Reading Cooperative Bank.
Financial literacy programs for high schools not only provide an avenue for CFIs to build goodwill within their communities, but they also help to lay the foundation for long-term relationships with the next generation of customers and employees. Whether your CFI has an interest in creating an in-school branch within your community or helping to round out a local school’s financial literacy offerings, getting involved with such programming can be a good way to enhance your brand within the community. CFIs interested in such offerings should start by reaching out to area schools to find out what their needs are.
