Financial Literacy Initiative

Mission

To close the financial literacy gap by imparting financial knowledge without conflicts of interest, thereby improving the lives of the current and future investing public, the credibility of our industry and ultimately, the stability of our economy.

Description
CFA Society Boston’s Financial Literacy Initiative is a community outreach program designed to consolidate valuable financial literacy content and make it widely available as a resource to the general public. We strike alliances with non-profit groups or employers, leveraging their reach to access a wide variety of audiences, from late high school onward. Since its inception in 2014, the initiative has grown year-over-year in multiple ways: 1) Member Engagement; 2) Active alliances; 3) Number of lives touched. 

Now, more than 180 CFA Society Boston members – all financial professionals – volunteer to develop, market, and distribute educational modules to improve financial literacy The initiative is topic-driven and targets people of all ages and backgrounds. The program addresses issues in Personal Finance such as Budgeting & Credit, to Basics of Investing and Retirement and more. It is so heartwarming to see the enthusiasm of both our volunteers and our audiences. We are truly making a difference in people’s lives, helping us to fulfill the CFA Society Boston mission of “serving the investing public.”

Alliance Leaders

Our model assigns a volunteer leader to each alliance. Each leader cultivates relationships with non-profit alliances, helps to determine the financial literacy needs of the alliance's constituents, directs a team to develop content (or adapt existing content), and schedules presentations. This structure helps to delegate efforts across our volunteer base and keep the initiative scalable. 

Current Alliances

CFA Society Boston volunteers actively engage with members of the investing public ranging from high school students to senior citizens. Whether conducting a 12-part series for Boston Public Schools via Private Industry Council, participating in a Financial Literacy Fair with Year Up, or discussing retirement with senior citizens at local libraries, our volunteers are helping to bridge the financial literacy gap.   

• Boston PIC (Private Industry Council)
  The mission of the Boston PIC is to strengthen Boston's communities and its workforce by connecting youth and adults with education and employment opportunities that align with the needs of area employers.
  
  
• Year Up
  Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides low-income young adults, ages 18-24, with a combination of hands-on skills development, coursework eligible for college credit, corporate internships, and wraparound support.
  
• Public Libraries
  We have presented Financial Literacy content to the general public as part of libraries' lecture series in Boston, Everett, Hingham, and Waltham. Our volunteers regularly reach out to new library contacts in an effort to expand this alliance and continue to increase financial literacy among the general investing public.
  
  
• Junior Achievement / Cathedral High School / Kipp Academy Lynn
  Working with Junior Achievement guidebooks and a Learning Platform that provides materials and videos, volunteers present 45-minute sessions using a workshop model with 15-minute breakout sessions during which groups and pairs work together on financial literacy assignments.

More Information
Click here to see examples of content presented by our volunteers. If you are interested in having CFA Society Boston volunteers present financial literacy to your organization or group, please complete the Financial Literacy Inquiry Form here. Inquiries are reviewed by volunteer leadership and evaluated based on the mission of the CFA Society Boston Financial Literacy Initiative, alignment with the organization, the proposed requirements, and the availability of volunteers. Inquiries will only be accepted through the online form. Please note at this time CFA Society Boston is accepting new inquiries but due to COVID-19 our volunteers are not presenting to organizations in March, April or May. 

Contact finlit@cfaboston.org with any questions.  

Financial Literacy Resources

 

 See Our Financial Literacy Initiative
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