17 THE NAFCU JOURNAL JULY–AUGUST 2022 build credit responsibly, how to create a healthy banking relationship, how to rent an apartment, how to purchase a car and how to budget are critical skills.” If these skills are taught at the high school and college-level ages, a young person can avoid a decade of financial damage and repair down the line, she said. As Pettus and her team evaluated the types of financial education available, they looked for a different, more engaging way to teach common, but sometimes complicated financial concepts to the young adult audience. “I wanted an interactive platform that would engage students and encourage participation and real-world decision-making,” she explained. After researching and seeing demonstrations of content, marketing and uses of the platforms from several companies, they chose Banzai as their partner. The interactive platform supplements the five core seminars offered by the SkyPoint staff: ■ Financial Wellness 101, which teaches financial basics like having a responsible banking relationship, developing good spending and savings habits, and creating a plan to achieve long-term and short-term financial goals. ■ Credit-Building, SkyPoint's most popular seminar, which explains in detail what information is on a credit report, how a credit score in generated, and how to improve or repair your score. ■ Path to Homeownership, which breaks down the steps to take in preparation for becoming a homeowner. ■ Life Insurance and Retirement, which places emphasis on the importance of properly preparing and ensuring future security. ■ Entrepreneurship, which is a walkthrough of completing market research on your product(s) and potential consumers, creating a business entity, and funding a small business. “We rely on and fully utilize Banzai for popular content outside of our core seminars, including but not limited to investing, filing a tax return and completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®),” said Pettus. “All of our four schools have engaged in Banzai by ordering the course workbooks for their students and implementing the interactive digital content into their classroom curriculum.” SkyPoint’s community development staff provides demonstrations and tabling seminars upon request. The four initial schools in SkyPoint’s Banzai partnership are Montgomery College, Frederick Community College, University of the District of Columbia and Gaithersburg High School. “We concentrated on colleges for our initial sponsorship because they are typically more expensive to sponsor and we wanted to create membership opportunities, which we would be unable to accomplish with high school students due to their age,” explained Pettus. “We also wanted to select schools from our credit union charter areas.” The Montgomery County high school was selected when a fourth college sponsorship did not pan out. “We researched high schools based on size, graduation rates at 80% or below and demographics, because we wanted to address majority Black and Brown student populations,” said Pettus. “The program launched at Gaithersburg High School in early 2022 with 80 students.” Engaging Digital Natives One study shows that 89% of Gen Zers said it’s a priority for them to learn about personal finance, and 75% are interested in taking personal finance classes. While only 36% have ever taken a personal finance class, 38% report receiving financial advice, including long- and short-term savings and budgeting tips from TikTok.3 As credit unions look for ways to reach younger audiences with products and services that include financial education as well as checking and accounts with low balance requirements and no fees or credit cards for those who are still in school, it is important to evaluate technology that connects the credit union with younger generations. “Digital services are critical to reaching and maintaining this audience because it is their way of life,” said Pettus. “Technology is how they learn, how they connect, how they socialize and engage, and how they conduct business. Gen Z does not and will not bank in the same manner that Gen X banks.” She added, “They open accounts online, apply for credit online, and get their banking tips from social media, apps, and online ads. So, it is imperative to meet them where they are to provide the proper tools, resources and information to equip them for good financial decision-making.” NCUA provides resources to aid credit unions with enhancing financial literacy for all ages and all communities, but Harper noted that one area that presents the greatest opportunity for credit unions to fill the gap is the education of the “ Not everyone has the opportunity or the interest in going to college, so high school is ideally the opportune time to catch young adults before they step out into the real world. ” AUDRA PETTUS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, SKYPOINT
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