Financial Literacy: How to Get Started

Volunteering for “360 Degrees of Financial Literacy” is easy. Everything you need to conduct a successful community outreach program is available on the NCACPA website. PowerPoint presentations, sample speeches, talking points, handouts, and planning guides are provided to minimize volunteers’ preparation time.

What Do You Want to Say?
Select a topic(s) from the life stages identified in the “360 Degrees of Financial Literacy” initiative. Review the presentation materials for the life stage(s) you selected and read the program planning and publicity guides.

Who Do You Want to Say It To?
Once you’re familiar with the resource materials, simply contact groups and organizations in your community that are appropriate audiences for the life stage(s) you selected and request an opportunity to talk to them. Scheduling financial literacy presentations is not difficult as most civic and service groups typically welcome speakers offering compelling information that benefits their members.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for getting involved:

1. Sign up to volunteer. Send an email to Lorrie Leonhardt stating your interest in getting involved. You will begin receiving monthly e-newsletters outlining new resources, opportunities to get involved, and the like. This will also make you eligible to be contacted when NCACPA has an opportunity to volunteer in your area. You may also want to check out the AICPA’s free financial literacy CPE course for volunteers.

2. Decide who your ideal target audience would be. It might be students, low-income families, faith-based groups, single mothers – whatever demographic you are most drawn to.

3. Establish what your audience needs. Is it debt or credit management? How to buy a house? Financing a child’s education? Maybe it’s as simple as establishing a monthly budget? Whatever it is, NCACPA can help. We have “canned” presentations on almost any topic or audience available for you to download and customize.

4. Make a call. Identify an organization that works with your target audience. Local schools are a great place to start and teachers are frequently looking for local experts to speak to students. You might also contact a local credit counseling service, your church, a local shelter, or another community outreach organization who works with your target audience. They’ll be grateful for your help.

5. Tell us about it! Not only can we outfit you with handouts and giveaways to make your presentation a success, but keeping track of the initiative’s impact is increasingly important in measuring our success. If you participate in a financial literacy, community outreach, or student recruitment event in your area, we want to hear about it!

Simply complete this form, or send the following information to Lorrie Leonhardt:

1. Your name

2. Group/organization you are working with

3. Date of the event

4. Location

5. Topic(s) covered

6. How many people in your audience or group

Not only will your experience provide good feedback for us, you may be recognized in an upcoming issue of Interim Report, or at future association events.

Congratulations! You’re on your way to building a solid image among the public as a trusted business professional and increasing awareness of the CPA profession.
 

Here some additional ideas you can use to get started:

• Consult the CPA Mobilization Kit User Guide for sample invites.

• Fund, staff, or form alliances with youth organizations such as Junior Achievement, Future Business Leaders of America, and Jump$tart.

• Fund a special supplement in a local print publication.

• Organize a Financial Literacy Day for your local community.

• Present business basics to entrepreneurs, business clubs, and organizations such as the Small Business Administration or a local Chamber of Commerce.

• Contact your employer’s human resources department to schedule “brown bag” lunch sessions on specific topics appropriate to employees of the company.

• Hold a financial literacy event at your church, synagogue, or community center.

• Invite clients to a free reception and present financial literacy basics.

• Adopt a school or classroom.

For more information, contact Lorrie Leonhardt, Director of Communications, at (800) 722-2836, Ext. 164, or via email at lleonhardt@ncacpa.org.