TALLAHASSEE, Fla.– Tallahassee-Leon Federal Credit Union (TLFCU) hosted its fourth annual Mini-Billionaires Academy, a week long overnight summer camp designed to teach youth the benefits of understanding money and financial planning.
TLFCU received support last year for the Academy from the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) through a Biz Kid$ Financial Education Grant.
The Mini Billionaires’ Academy is designed to help youth become financially literate through lessons in budgeting, income, savings, taxes and more. The program has created fun, hands-on activities that give the campers an interactive learning experience.
“Students are graduating high school, and even college, with almost no formal training on personal money management. We are proud to be able to fill that gap in our community,” said Lisa Brown, President/CEO of TLFCU.
For the first two years of the academy, the lessons and activities were created for youth ages 12-15. Over the past two years the progam extended the participant age range to between 8-17 years old. The curriculum incorporated a leadership development aspect to the program for campers ages 16 and 17. These campers had a more intense financial literacy training and were able to act as financial counselors to the younger campers, according to the credit union.
TLFCU was also able to drastically increase its camp attendance from 15 kids in 2013 to 50 in 2014, including one camper who attended al the way from Trinidad, demonstrating the expanded reach of the program. The camp also hosts a Reality Fair on the last day of the Academy, which has included participation of state representatives and volunteers from the League of Southeastern Credit Union. As of 2015, over 115 campers have graduated with their “MBA.”
Scholarships Offered
Tallahassee-Leon Federal Credit Union was able to provide some partial or full scholarships for campers this year due to the increase in attendance.
“We are so happy that we could help fund this Mini Billionaires’ Academy,” said Danielle Brown, Director of Development & Donor Relations for the Foundation. “This program is the perfect way to make learning about finances fun, and it can really help to improve youth financial literacy.”
The “Grant at Work” at Tallahassee Leon is part of a series that highlights Foundation grantees who made a positive impact in their community and empowered consumers to achieve financial freedom through credit unions. National Credit Union Foundation grants are made possible by supporters of the Foundation.