Federal Reserve Takes Center Stage in Financial Literacy Outcomes

In its more than 100 years as the central banking system in the U.S., the Federal Reserve has been a major driver of financial education throughout the country. Its role in financial literacy has grown in recent years, as the importance of educated and informed consumers has become a major economic, political and social focus at the local, state, federal and, indeed, international levels.

Each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks is a major supporter of financial literacy and engages in a broad range of partnerships and initiatives, while also developing publications, web resources, videos, conferences and other tools to provide individuals and families with the skills they need to better understand and manage their personal financial affairs. The Federal Reserve also has become a model for public-private alliances, as the various Federal Reserve Banks continue to partner with government agencies, community organizations, and private companies to train financial educators and to expand the awareness of critically important financial education topics, such as budgeting, saving, investing, credit, debt and the fast-growing spectrum of abusive practices in lending and other financial services that has become a heavy weight on the local, national and global economies.

The following is a brief summary of financial education initiatives offered by various Federal Reserve Banks:

• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta – the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta provides economic education opportunities to teachers, students, and others through a variety of programs, outreach efforts, and publications such as teacher workshops, train-the-trainer seminars, and community partnerships.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston offers the New England Economic Adventure program, which was developed to assist visitors learn about key financial and economic concepts, including standard of living, economic growth, and rising labor productivity, using examples from New England's own unique history.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago – the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago created Money Smart Week, along with members of its Money Smart Advisory Council. This is a week-long event that helps consumers better manage their finances and provide awareness of financial education programs available on topics such as budgeting and using credit wisely. The Chicago Fed also makes available numerous publications on personal finance and education, while offering the Fed Challenge to both high school and college students. The Chicago Fed is actively involved with the annual Financial Literacy Summit; information on the 2014 Summit can be found here.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland promotes financial literacy throughout its district by these and other initiatives: holding conferences and workshops for teachers; conducting tours for high school, college, and community groups; sponsoring competitions to increase understanding of the Fed's role in the economy; and producing publications about the banking system and the national economy.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas – the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas developed and launched Building Wealth: A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Financial Future, which helps individuals and families develop a plan for building personal wealth and presents an overview of personal wealth-building strategies that include setting financial goals, seeking guidance, budgeting, saving and investing, and managing debt. This is offered in both static and interactive formats.

• Federal Reserve Bank of New York – the New York Fed promotes economic and financial education in an expansive range of formats, including on its Web site by providing instructional materials and programs for students and educators. Student programs are available for elementary and middle school, high school, and college and graduate school levels.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia – the Philadelphia Fed's mission in education is to promote economic and financial literacy and a greater understanding of the role of the Federal Reserve System. The Bank's goal is to provide teachers and students with resources that will help them better understand important economic concepts and issues. To promote this goal, the Philadelphia Fed houses a permanent exhibit, Money in Motion, where visitors learn about money, banking, and the Federal Reserve System. They also provide personal financial education information on their Web site that identifies curricula, materials, and resources that are available to the public.

• Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond – the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond promotes economic and financial education for teachers, students and the general public through programs and partnerships. Educational programs are focused on enhancing knowledge about the economy, the unique role of the Federal Reserve System in the economy, and financial literacy topics. Outreach efforts take a variety of forms, including teacher workshops, train-the-trainer seminars, and publications. The Fed Experience exhibit is located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and is open to the public. In the exhibit, visitors explore the power of their decisions on their quality of life, the impact of choices on the economy over time, and the role of the Federal Reserve in the economy.

• Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco – the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco created and launched FedVille, which is an online town built just for kids ages 9 through 12. Kids earn money, open a savings account, and collect trivia cards. Students can also ask Dr. Econ an economics question, play the Great Economists and Their Times Treasure Hunt, or do the Fed-in-Brief Crossword Puzzle. There are also various teacher resources, materials and workshops as well as publications that support the Fed's financial literacy initiatives.

• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis – the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis provides many financial literacy programs.  These include conferences and workshops for educators, as well as its award-winning, free “Econ Lowdown” online and print classroom resources for K-16 educators to use in teaching about money and banking, economics, personal finance and the Federal Reserve.  These resources include downloadable lesson plans, interactive whiteboard activities and online courses.  Free resources are also available for consumers and others who want to learn about personal finance and economics.  On the Econ Lowdown Facebook and Twitter pages, followers can find personal finance tips, information on new classroom materials, and economics context for headlines in the news.  For more information, see  http://www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources/.

Many of the Federal Reserve Banks also are involved with financial education campaigns throughout the year, which are designed to assist consumers in fostering a greater ability to manage their personal financial affairs. Additional information regarding these campaigns can be found here.

The above programs developed and coordinated by the Federal Reserve Banks are just a few of their offerings to drive financial literacy to new levels of success and many financial education proponents believe the Fed’s role in promoting and enhancing financial and economic literacy will only increase in the future.  If the past 100 years is any indication of its ability to influence and succeed in shaping financial literacy, we can expect continued achievement by the Federal Reserve in driving financial education programs, policy and results in the years ahead.