Collaboration, Innovation, Education: A Model for Successful Financial Literacy Programming at the...

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ALA & FLORENCE COUNTY LIBRARY

SYSTEM

Made possible by a grant from Smart investing@your library®, a partnership between the FINRA Investor Education Foundation

and the American Library Association.

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Smart investing@your library®

“Smart investing@your library is a grant-funded program developed collaboratively by the American Library Association and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The program addresses the growing need for unbiased financial and investor education at the grassroots level”.

Source: smartinvesting.ala.org

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Smart investing@your library®

o Application to the Smart investing@your library® grant program is by invitation only

to public libraries, community college

libraries, library organizations, nonprofit networks or consortia serving public libraries, and state libraries.

o Grants range in size from $5,000 to $100,000.

o 2012: $1.2 million in grants to 16 recipients.

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Smart investing@your library®

Now in its fifth year, the program has awarded a total of nearly $6 million to public libraries and library networks nationwide.

Grantees are allowed flexibility to to modify (with grantor approval) elements of their projects to reach their stated goals.

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Library System Overview

585,000 Annual Visits70,000 Cardholders320,000 Items Borrowed AnnuallySix locations throughout the county

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Florence County

Population: 137,862 (2011) Total Land Area: 799.96 square

miles Income: 18% Below Poverty Line

(2006-10) Race: 41.7% African-American,

55.5 % White Unemployment: 9.5 % - August

2012Source: US Census Bureau

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Florence County Library System - Project Overview

Grant Award/Year-$ 47,949 (2010) Project Term – 16 months Multigenerational – 3 Target Groups Partnerships

SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs Florence Chapter AARP Francis Marion University Poynor Adult Education Center The Benefit Bank of South Carolina

Public Programs Dewey D. Fox Fall Festival

Take Control of Your Money workshops Oct./Nov. 2011 six-week money management Mar./Apr. 2012 three-week retirement planning April/May 2012 three-week money management

Children’s storytimes and afterschool programs Sept. 2011 through May 2012

Money Madness Teen Lock-in (May 2012) Senior Lunch & Learn (May 2012)

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Marketing

Dewey D. Fox Fall Festival Attendance – approximately 2000

over half were children

Programs Theater group Puppeteer Money themes utilized, savings, spending, earning Piggy bank crafts

SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs and The Benefit Bank Tables in lobby to provide consumer/benefit

information

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Fall Festival Images

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Fall Festival Images

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Fall Festival Images

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Fall Festival Images

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Fall Festival Images

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Fall Festival Images

Festival Goal

Target: Children in Florence County between the ages of 4 and 11 90 % of the 1000 children who attend the Dewey Dollar Fall Festival will gain an understanding of the role and value of money. 

Festival Results

Of the surveys that were filled out, approximately 176 were filled out by children between the ages of 4 and 11.  

o All reported learning at least one concept.

o Savings (40%) was the number one answer.

o Other answers included overspending, credit cards, earning money.

Branch Dewey Dollar Programs

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Children’s Program Results

• 5,300 children attended financial themed storytimes system wide

• 4,500 checked out books from the Dewey Dollar Collection

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Children’s Program Results

• Simple surveys revealed that 100% learned at least one concept:

o earning money 43%o budgeting 23%o saving 18%

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Take Control of Your Moneyo Workshops on Money Management

and Retirement Planning

o New Print and Online Resources

o Senior Lunch & Learn

o Consumer Fraud Alerts

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Take Control of Your Money Series

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Take Control Workshop Results

99 % reported that they gained financial knowledge

Thirty Day Follow-up: 91 % reported opening a savings account or increasing savings90% established a household budget

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Adult Smart Investing Collections

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Money Madness Teen Lock-in

• 189 Teens Attended

• SELA Outstanding Library Program of 2012

• Partnership with SC Department of Consumer Affairs and support of area schools

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Teen Lock-in Images

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Teen Lock-in Images

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Teen Lock-in Images

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Teen Results

More than 95% reported learning at least two concepts:

67% - the importance of saving money

61% - how compound interest works and why it’s important

55% - the true costs of buying/owning a car

43% - learned about credit card debt

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Teen Results Followup

Thirty Day Follow-up Survey:

51% reported taking steps to avoid credit card debt by saving up for purchases rather than buying on credit

11 % reported setting up a savings account

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Senior Lunch & Learn

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Senior Lunch & Learn

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Senior Lunch & Learn

• 100 % reported learning valuable information about various types of investment fraud.

• 55% reported employing new strategies and resources in their investment planning as a direct result of the Lunch & Learn.

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Senior Lunch & Learn

o The Securities Division of the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General decided to replicate the Senior Lunch & Learn model statewide.

o They received a grant and started their statewide initiative in the fall of 2012.

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Collaboration

• Internal – staff, Friends of the Library group

• External - partnerships

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Partnerships

• Utilizing an existing partnership is preferable to building one from scratch.

• The success of partnerships depends just as much or more on relationships than “organizational fit.”

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Partnerships

• A memorandum of understanding (M.O.U.) is a good way to define roles and expectations.

• Partnerships should be mutually beneficial.

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Partnerships

Examples of mutual benefit:

o Sharing statistics, survey resultso Positive press – coordinating coverageo Reaching other audienceso Sharing “soft outcomes” - photos,

anecdotal resultso Sharing expertise

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Innovation

• Take inventory of your organization’s assets.

• Brainstorm with colleagues, partnership contacts, cohorts in other libraries / similar organizations.

• Innovation can result from adaptation.

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Lessons Learned

• Marketing and program design are interrelated.

• Success Tip: Adapt a program format that has worked previously in YOUR community.

• Direct marketing works best for teens.

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Promotional Videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/ALAsmartinvesting

Smart Investing for Kids:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAnHRSKIdFE&feature=autoplay&list=UUJjjU7BCpzBN0R1Tn9qAtkg&playnext=1

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Promotional Videos

Smart Investing for Adults:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxBWQC-423M&list=UUJjjU7BCpzBN0R1Tn9qAtkg&index=2&feature=plcp

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Media Coverage

http://www2.wbtw.com/news/2011/oct/25/florence-county-library-system-promotes-financial--ar-2605920/

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For More Information:

smartinvesting.ala.org

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Thanks

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Aubrey B. Carroll

Contact:acarroll@florencelibrary.orgacarrollflolib@gmail.com

(843) 413 - 7070

Florence County Library System

509 S. Dargan StreetFlorence, SC USA 29506www.florencelibrary.org