Iowa Jump$tart Accomplishments for 2013

  • April 2013:  Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge.  Iowa Student Loan® partnered with Iowa Jump$tart, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa, Iowa College Access Network, and the Iowa Department of Education, to offer 30 awards of $1,000 each to Iowa high schools for participating in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge.  44 Iowa high schools enrolled in the Challenge and incorporated the Student Loan Game Plan into their curriculum.  1200 high school students completed the Student Loan Game Plan individually and because teachers shared the tutorial with groups of students, hundreds more participated that were not provided for in the count

 

  • April 2013:  April proclaimed Financial Literacy Awareness Month in Iowa.  Encouraged by Iowa Jump$tart member Iowa College Aid, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad proclaimed April as Financial Literacy Awareness Month in Iowa.

 

  • April 23-24, 2013:  State Coalition Leaders Meeting.  Iowa Jump$tart representative met with National Jump$tart officials, partners, and other state coalition leaders in Washington, DC. 

 

  • Spring 2013: Investor Education in your Workplace.  Eleven Jump$tart members participated in the Investor Education in your Workplace program.  This free program, funded via the Investor Protection Trust, educated participants about personal finance and investing.

 

  • April 20-27, 2013:  Money Smart Week Iowa.  Iowa Jump$tart coordinated the Chicago Federal Reserve Money Smart Week in Iowa. There were 11 primary locations.
    • Money Smart Investor conference held at Drake University with attendance of 150
    • Money Smart Expo held after conference had attendance of 100
    • Coordinated 200 partnering organizations who hosted over 200 events with 12,000 attendees
    • Distributed a 12-page newspaper tabloid on financial topics to 360,000 people
    • Awarded a scholarship for the Money Smart Kid essay contest (over 150 entries)
    • 2,468 posters were submitted to Community Bankers of Iowa for the Money Smart Week Poster Contest
    • Introduced GeoCache for College Cash with $1,000 awarded to a student from Kirkwood Community College.
    • Extended Money Smart Week’s outreach by
      • Providing Ben Franklin costumes to communities for school visits
      • Offering a Scout night template for a fun night to earn badges
      • Providing MSW museum displays for use in libraries and lobbies
    • Offered a special “Be Money Smart” badge for Scout night attendees
    • Event attendance:
      • Conferences: 500
      • 6 Kickoffs: 140
      • Other events: 2500
      • 8 Scout nights:  400 Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, & Boy Scouts
      • Ben Franklin visits to schools: 8-10,00

 

  • July 18, 2013:  The 13th Annual Personal Financial Literacy Conference was held at DMACC in Ankeny with 82 attending.  Highlights of the 1-day conference included:
    • Keynote speaker, Dr. Mary Ann Campbell, CFP, applied a bit of fun and Money Magic to financial literacy.  She engaged us with her personality and talents to teach financial literacy in a creative way.
    • Geo Cache was a big hit and the technology worked great throughout the day until a winner was selected!
    • Teenage entrepreneur, Tanner Johnson, inspired us with his above average financial skills and surprising future education and career goals.
    • Money Smart Essay Winner, Macy Evans demonstrated the knowledge and poise that made her a winner and the savvy financial smarts that will keep her a winner for years to come.
    • Our thirteen Exhibitors offered resources and information that complemented our available sessions.
    • Dr. Amy Harris, chief economist and administrator of the Research and Analysis Division of the Iowa Department of Revenue, connected basic economic concepts with key public policies for a new perspective on our money decisions (at any age).
    • The closing session wrapped up a great day with idea sharing and revenue opportunities for many conference attendees.

 

  • August 2013: Iowa Finance Alliance.  Iowa Jump$tart and several members collaborated with other organizations including Army OneSource in determining how to enhance the financial literacy of Iowa’s veterans, service members, and their families.  In August, four presentations were made to 30 ROTC cadets.  1100 newly enlisted Iowa National Guard Soldiers will receive professionally delivered financial literacy education each year during drill weekends.

 

  • November 2013:  National Educator Conference.  Iowa Jump$tart sponsored 2 Iowa teachers to attend the Jump$tart National Educator Conference in Washington, DC.