When thinking of entrepreneurs, who comes to mind? Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Dolly Parton and Oprah Winfrey likely make the list. A young girl named Ramanda should also make the list.
Entrepreneurship isn’t just for adults anymore. The Money Matters: Make it Count program at the Boys & Girls Club in Green Bay, Wisconsin is bringing entrepreneurship and financial acumen to local youth. Money Matters strives to educate teens about the basics of money management through engaging, interactive exercises. But the program is about more than simply balancing a checkbook; it’s about putting young lives on track for success.
The Green Bay Club has implemented the Money Matters program in a variety of formats and settings. For the past few years, the Club has incorporated the program into its work at Lincoln Hills Correctional School for Boys, part of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, providing students the skills they need to transition back to their communities.
The Money Matters experience has been eye-opening for Lincoln Hills students. Before completing the program, the boys did not know anything about budgeting money, and most had never written a check. Many students come from rough family situations with no mentors giving them financial guidance. Through the program, they have learned about money management, including how to use a credit card responsibly, how to balance a checkbook and live within their means, and the value of saving and investing money.
Shayne Harkey, a Boys & Girls Club staff member who has facilitated the program, says the activity that has the most impact is having students develop an annual budget. Some teens come into the program thinking they can afford luxury goods while working a minimum-wage job without a high school degree. Once they add up their annual expenses, teens realize that going to college will help them earn the wages they need to have a better lifestyle. Says Harkey, "In the beginning, the teens think they can live the lavish life, but after this exercise they get a sense of reality. They have one perception of how to spend a dollar and come out with a new perspective."
Learning the value of a dollar has helped motivate many at-risk Lincoln Hills students to pursue their education. After learning about financial aid, including how to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and find and apply for grants and loans, many have gone on to college or technical school.
Harkey has witnessed the positive impact Money Matters has had on a number of Lincoln Hills students. He says, "I’ve had students call to thank me for what they learned in this program. One of my students went on to become the first person in his family to graduate from high school. After that, he took a full-time job and has opened a checking account with his wages. Now he lives on his own and credits Money Matters with his success." Another student credits the program with his ability to budget everything from rent to diapers so he can support his girlfriend and child while attending technical school.
While Money Matters has touched the lives of Lincoln Hills students, the program helps other local youth as well. Another component of the Green Bay Club’s Money Matters program is an Entrepreneurs Club for high school youth. Through the Entrepreneurs Club, teens start small business ventures to learn how to manage and price inventory and make sales transactions. The teens recently developed a food concession, CanTeen, and chose what products to offer, including their best-selling root beer floats. .
While running the CanTeen, the teens learned how to set prices that covered costs and provided a small profit without preventing other Club members from being able to afford items. During program hours, they completed cash transactions, allowing them to practice adding up purchases without calculators and making change. So far, CanTeen has raised almost $500 in sales.
According to Johanna Wicklund, director of program development and education, "The program is so successful because teens are really excited about applying what they learn to real life. Through the CanTeen, they learn the full spectrum of running a small business."
While the Entrepreneurs Club is geared toward older youth, younger students aren’t left out of the fun. Money Matters offers a Club Bucks Program geared toward students ages 7-11. Members earn Club Bucks doing good deeds; for example, helping another student with homework earns $1, whereas cleaning a table after snack time earns $2. At the end of each day, students turn Club Bucks into the "Banker"—a Boys & Girls Club staff member—for deposit into their Club savings accounts.
Students also get to purchase items from the Club Store with the Club Bucks they earn. The store carries inventory from pencils and rulers to guitars and mountain bikes. Students learn the value of saving money when they set their sights on a large purchase.
Giving a seven-year-old a loan is certainly not commonplace for most banks. But in the Club Bucks Program, students can borrow money from the bank as long as they pay an additional $1 fee. This loan program teaches youth the responsibilities that go along with borrowing money.
Money Matters makes a lasting impression on students. According to a survey of Money Matters participants nationwide, 80 percent of Club members had begun to save money. Ramanda, an 18-year-old Green Bay program alumna, credits the program with teaching her how to budget and save her earnings. Since participating in the program, she has opened a checking account and now uses a debit card and maintains a balanced checkbook.
Despite the success of Money Matters in the Green Bay Club so far, Wicklund isn’t resting. With ideas to provide Spanish-language money management education in the works, as well as efforts to bring parents in for key lessons, the Club is continuing to generate interest in financial literacy. (0608-5305)
