Credit Unions Encouraged to Join the Northwest Credit Union Foundation’s Biz Kid$ Business Plan Competition

Posted by Ben Shuey on October 23, 2019

Credit unions across the Northwest have a new opportunity to boost middle school students’ financial literacy through the Biz Kid$ Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Northwest Credit Union Foundation.

Biz Kid$, a program with strong Northwest roots, engages young people and helps them develop life skills in the areas of financial literacy and entrepreneurship. The Foundation is currently recruiting credit unions from across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to participate in the program throughout the 2019-2020 school year.

The competition, supported in part by the National Credit Union Foundation, will provide credit unions with the opportunity to partner with local middle schools to offer economic and entrepreneurship education to students. Throughout the 12-week curriculum, students will showcase their hard work while practicing financial education, entrepreneurial, public speaking, and teamwork skills.

Culminating at the end of the school year, students will create business plans that put what they have learned in the classroom into action and provide hands-on, outcomes-based financial education to the students.

“The Foundation is so pleased to offer this opportunity to Northwest credit unions. The competition will help middle school students build the skills they need for a strong financial future,” said Sharee Adkins, Executive Director of the Northwest Credit Union Foundation. “Credit unions are the perfect partners for this project, as they embody the ‘People Helping People’ philosophy and are experts at teaching financial literacy to the next generation of credit union members.”

The Biz Kid$ Business Plan Competition will bring financial and business education into the classroom at least once per week. Credit unions interested in participating should plan to work with schools to begin teaching the curriculum by no later than mid-December.

At the end of the program, students will develop and present their business plans to a panel of local judges, such as someone from the credit union, the school district’s superintendent, and a local elected official. The winning students will go on to compete by video against students from across the region, and a winning business plan will be selected and celebrated before the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

The Foundation will provide all necessary curriculum, materials, and support to credit unions and classrooms so that they may successfully complete the 12-week program. Credit unions interested in participating should visit the program online. Questions can be directed to Adkins via email or by calling 206-265-0313.

Posted in Biz Kid$, Economic Empowerment.