Never Too Young For Financial Literacy

Financial education enthusiasts are buzzing over news from North Carolina that PNC Foundation, an affiliate of PNC Financial Services Group, has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to provide basic financial literacy instruction to nearly 30,000 children and parents.  The PNC grant represents just the latest of many recent examples of programs targeting kids as young as three years old to teach them basic financial concepts as an early-age financial literacy foundation.

Research has long documented the positive impact of early exposure of children to reading and research also has established the benefits to kids of early exposure to financial education.  Specifically, children who understand at a young age topics like saving, sharing and responsible spending have a greater chance of being secure financially than those who do not.

The PNC grant will enable many aspects to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s initiative, including teaching kids financial concepts through a multimedia, bilingual activity kit created for PNC by Sesame Workshop.  The kit is called For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, & Saving.  In addition, a new interactive area in ImaginOn and other library locations will include information, tools and resources for children, while iPads and tablets will incorporate key elements of the financial instruction into workshops for parents.

The PNC Foundation includes among its core mission areas a significant focus on financial literacy, early childhood education and community and economic development.  The grant is one of many provided this year by bank foundations to drive greater awareness of financial concepts and to foster higher levels of financial literacy.  Given the heavy debt load carried by an increasing number of individuals and families, combined with the low levels of financial literacy in many communities globally, the continued support of financial education by these institutions is critical to achieving successful educational and practical outcomes in connection with financial literacy in the months and years ahead.