It has taken a little longer than planned, but the debut of the Financial Resource Education Database of Montana (FRED to friends) has arrived. FRED makes it easier for the consumers in need of your particular services to find you. It also connects you to other providers, making it easier to share referrals and best practices. A simple interface enables visitors to search for classes, programs, services, and materials by life stage and financial need. (more…)
Join Us for a Webinar on Using FRED, Share Your Resources with Montana!
FRED is moving full speed ahead. Please join the Montana Financial Education Coalition Tuesday, November 29th at 12 pm for a webinar on how to share your programs and services on Montana’s Financial Resource Education Database (FRED). This will ensure that you are a part of FRED in time for the launch of our publicity campaign in January. Click here to register.
You will remember FRED from its debut at the MFEC Conference in September? The website, www.fredmt.org, is the state’s first comprehensive, searchable database of financial education resources. FRED makes it easier for the consumers in need of your particular services to find you. It also connects you to other providers, making it easier to share referrals and best practices.
MFEC Poster Contest
At the 2011 MFEC conference we announced the winners of our poster contest. Students from K-5 were asked to draw a poster representing their take on the title "A Penny Saved is…" MFEC received over 80 submissions from across the state. Submissions were divided into two categories: K-2 and 3-5. Click on the Photo Gallery link at the top to peruse the submissions or on the links below. Note: Our website and photo galleries are best viewed using Mozilla Fire Fox. We are having some technical difficulties with Internet Explorer.
K-12 Teachers Invited to National Gathering
The National jump$tart Coalition will be hosting K-12 teachers from across the country at its annual Financial Educators' Conference, November 4th through 6th in Washington, DC. The conference, which will focus exclusively on classroom financial education, will include tracks devoted to advocacy and curriculum-building. Share, learn, and network on a national scale! Teachers will receive fifteen hours of professional development credit.
For conference details, and to register, please click here.
United Way Study Gets Spotlight in Billings Gazette
A big thanks to United Way of Yellowstone County, for helping raise awareness and share great information on financial education. The Billings Gazette has published an article, here, on the results of United Way's "Making Ends Meet" focus group. The group brought together financial decision-makers from Billings-area households which have achieved financial stability despite making below-median income. The goal was to identify the techniques participants have used to achieve such stability. These techniques are included in the article.
The Montana Financial Education Coalition is proud to have supported the study through one of the $500 mini-grants awarded to attendees of last year's conference. We hope you take a moment to read the full report on the focus group, available here.