The Youth Initiatives Committee 

The Native Financial Education Coalition Youth Committee (YIC) Mission is threefold:

• Increase awareness of the need for personal financial skills among Native youth;
• Promote the implementation of financial education programs for Native you; and
• Support the effects of the Native Financial Education Coalition to promote financial management skills through information sharing and collaboration.

The YIC includes members representing a wide range of educational, youth-oriented, and Native organizations and committees.  Membership in the YIC is open to any organization working or interested in improving personal finance skills of youth in Native communities.

If you are interested in joining the Youth Initiatives Committee please contact the committee chair Cora Mae Haskell or the YIC Coordinator JoAnn DePenning directly.

Youth Initiatives and Issues

The earlier good financial habits can be learned and implemented, the better. Teaching young people how to handle money pays off not only for them as individuals but also for their future families and communities when they become self-sufficient adults. They also become role models for the next generation, continuing the cycle of successful money management.

Good financial habits can also help youth avoid a lot of the financial problems that plague many adults, such as large amounts of debt, little or no savings, bankruptcy, repossession, and so on. Being free of these huge financial dilemmas makes a big difference in a person’s quality of life later on.

When young people have solid financial skills and make good financial choices, they learn to control money rather than being controlled by it—or the lack of it. In addition, feeling in control of their finances can give them the confidence to set and attain big goals in the future, too.

To help you reach out to the youth in your community, here are some resources to consider:

Studies and Reports

According to the following reports by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (Jump$tart). Native American youth are less prepared to make informed financial choices than their peers.  Jump$tart and its national partners, notably the Native Financial Education Coalition, are working to close the gap and bring Native youth to a high standard of financial knowledge.  For details, see the following two reports.

The Financial Literacy of Native American Youth by Miriam Jorgensen and Lewis Mandell - April 2007

Closing the Financial Literacy Gap Among Native American Youth by Dr. Lewis Mandell - November 2005

Best Practices

In the Spring of 2007, the Youth Intiatives Committee worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to produce a collection of Native youth financial education programs from around the country.  In this newly published database of best practices a variety of youth financial education programs are summarized.

2007 NFEC Database of Youth Financial Education Programs

Articles

Early Financial Education Pays Off

Per Capita/Trust Account Issues

News and Events

In the fall of 2006, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve organized an opportunity for educators to share their perspectives on teaching personal finance lessons to Native youth.  The workshop titled "Money Smart Native Youth:  Sharing Lessons Learned in Native Financial Education" was hosted in the Ninth District using webinar technology that enabled participants from across the country to join in the discussion of Native youth financial education programs.

Click HERE for a detailed summary of the webinar that includes links to each of the featured educators' programs presentations.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the Native Financial Education Coalition (NFEC) work together to promote the availability of financial education and mentoring for Native youth in classroom, community and family settings.  Read more in the following News Release.

Alliance Working to Close Native Teen Financial Education Gap - NCAI News 2005

For more information on youth issues, see the Research & Resources and Related Links sidebars.