The National Credit Union Foundation Awards $68,500 in Financial Education Grants

Madison, Wis. – The National Credit Union Foundation’s (the Foundation) board of directors has approved 12 new Biz Kid$ Financial Education Grants for 2017-2018, totaling $68,500. These grants are distributed to encourage credit union organizations to use Biz Kid$ and its curriculum to improve students’ financial well-being. Biz Kid$ is the credit union funded public television series that teaches kids about money management and entrepreneurship.

“We are very excited to be funding these unique Biz Kid$ initiatives,” said Danielle Brown, the Foundation’s Director of Development & Donor Relations. “Biz Kid$ changes the financial futures of the next generation, and we look forward to seeing how these 12 credit union organizations make an impact in the lives of youth in their communities.”

Some highlights of the grant projects:

• Bayport CU in Newport News, Va. will partner with local schools and Boys and Girls Clubs to launch the “Early Entrepreneurship Club” to help students in starting their own small businesses. They will incorporate Biz Kid$ lessons into the curriculum to help students with their business proposals and planning, and are aiming to reach 4,000 students.
• North Star Community CU in Grafton, N.D. will add Biz Kid$ to their Seeds-2-$ave program, an initiative that helps kids to plan, plant, harvest and sell their own produce to local farmers and split the proceeds into their savings account at the credit union. The Biz Kid$ program will help assist in the learning of supply and demand, savings, and entrepreneurship. 
• Securityplus FCU in Baltimore, M.D. will partner with YouthWorks, a program that employs over 7,000 children during the summer months, to combine youth employee orientation with credit union informational opportunities. They will also work with YouthWorks to provide financial education through the Biz Kid$ program, and encourage the youth employees to open savings accounts with the credit union.  
• St. Lois Community CU in St. Louis, Mo. will be pairing the Biz Kid$ curriculum with high schools who host Reality Fairs to ensure that topics covered in the fairs continue on in the classroom. Their goal is to reach 25 teachers and 500 students through this initiative.
• WEOKIE Credit Union Foundation in Oklahoma City, Okla. will bring together credit unions, electric cooperatives, and agricultural cooperatives to partner with middle school teachers and students to provide lessons in cooperatives, financial literacy and entrepreneurial education. The students will then partake in a Biz Kid$ Cooperative Pitch Competition in October during National Cooperative Month, showcasing their teamwork, public speaking, and new entrepreneurial skills.

The other credit union organizations receiving grants include:

• American Heritage FCU, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Central Missouri Community CU, Warrensburg, Mo.
• Credit Unions Care Foundation of Virginia, Lynchburg, Va.
• Ferguson FCU, Monticello, Miss.
• Millstream Area CU, Findlay, Ohio.
• Southern Chautauqua FCU, Lakewood, N.Y.
• Ukranian FCU, Rochester, N.Y.

Biz Kid$ is a financial literacy initiative launched nationally in January 2008 that teaches kids about money and business. The initiative includes an award-winning TV series, free classroom curriculum, outreach activities, and a website targeting children 9 – 16 years old. The Foundation is responsible for the fundraising and outreach of the program, and a coalition of over 300 credit unions and affiliates from across the country have helped exclusively fund Biz Kid$.