Iowa Jump$tart Accomplishments for 2014

  • Throughout 2014: Revitalization and significant enhancements to our coalition website, http://www.Iowajumpstart.org. This work will continue in 2015.
    • Member spotlight features on an active homepage.
    • Blog posts from our website are now automatically posted to our Facebook page.
    • New Resources page highlights member’s educational tools to promote financial literacy.
  • December 2013 – January 2014: Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge. Iowa Jump$tart, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa, Iowa College Access Network, and the Iowa Department of Education partnered with Iowa Student Loan® to offer 30 awards of $1,000 each to Iowa high schools for participating in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge. More than 2,800 students from 83 Iowa high schools participated by taking a financial literacy assessment test created and administered by Ednalysis, a central Iowa educational research company. The participating schools were entered into a random drawing to select the 30 winners. Each $1,000 prize is intended to improve the school’s financial literacy programs and its scholarship fund.
  • April 2014: April proclaimed Financial Literacy Awareness Month in Iowa. Encouraged by Iowa Jump$tart member Iowa College Aid, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad proclaimed April as Financial Literacy Awareness Month in Iowa.
  • April 5-12, 2014: Money Smart Week Iowa. Iowa Jump$tart coordinated the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Money Smart Week in Iowa. There were 13 primary regions participating around the state.
    • Within those, more than 170 partnering organizations hosted over 160 events in 18 Iowa counties, reaching 9,662 total attendees
    • The regions coordinated the distribution of over 500,000 Money Smart Week promotional items across the state.
    • The annual MoneySmart Investor conference and MoneySmart Expo, held at Drake University, drew over 150 attendees.
    • 320,000 newspaper tabs were distributed. The tab, inserted in 12 major newspapers,discussed a variety of financial topics and included the events calendar.
    • Awarded one state winner a scholarship for the Money Smart Kid essay contest (over 250 entries), and named 5 honorary mentions.
    • The poster contest had more than 2500 entries. Three statewide winners and several local winners were awarded prizes.
    • The GeoCache for College Cash contest prize (toward college tuition) was awarded to a student from Dordt College.
    • Extended Money Smart Week’s outreach by
      • Providing Ben Franklin costumes to communities for school visits
      • Offering a Scout night template for a fun night to earn badges
      • Providing MSW museum displays for use in libraries and lobbies
    • Shredding
      • Events in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Creston, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Quad Cities, Sioux Center, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Iowa City, Fort Dodge and Webster City.
      • Hundreds of participants shredded almost 60,000 pounds.
  • April 8-9, 2014: State Coalition Leaders Meeting. Iowa Jump$tart representative met with National Jump$tart officials, partners, and other state coalition leaders in Washington, DC.
  • July 17, 2014: The 14th Annual Personal Financial Literacy Conference was held at DMACC in Ankeny with 86 registered, 75 actual attendance. Nearly half of those registered were k-12 Educators, the conference’s target audience. Highlights of the 1-day conference included:
    • Keynote speaker, Dr. Mary Suiter, Assistant Vice President and Economic Education Officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
    • Opening general session with Kenneth McDonnell from the Office of Financial Education for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
    • National Jump$tart update from Bill Cheeks, Eastern Regional Director
    • Three separate breakout session time slots
    • Fifteen conference exhibitors
  • September 2014: Financial Literacy Work Team. Iowa Jump$tart members participated in the release of recommendations for improving financial literacy across the state with the governor’s office. The recommendations were developed by a 2014 Financial Literacy Work Team that included a working group of state officials from the Department of Education and representatives from the business and higher education community, including several Iowa Jump$tart Coalition members. A financial literacy summit is a potential outcome and extension of this work team.
  • November 2014: National Educator Conference. Iowa Jump$tart and its coalition members collectively sponsored 4 Iowa teachers to attend the Jump$tart National Educator Conference in Los Angeles, California.
  • During 2014: Seven (7) new member organizations joined the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition!