April is Financial Literacy Month
4/13/2011
April is Financial Literacy Month and Virginia Community Capital (VCC) is engaged in numerous associated activities. A good part of our celebration reflects the need for education on the topic.
Financial literacy enjoys (or suffers from) multiple definitions, which may be one of the reasons that the first goal in the 2011 National Strategy for Financial Literacy is to “increase awareness of and access to effective financial education.” A study conducted in 2009 by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation “found that many individuals both overestimate their financial knowledge and lack an understanding of key financial concepts.”
“Financial literacy is a complex, yet important, concept,” offers Teresa Walker, the VCC Savings Manager. “The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy recommends establishing a baseline definition, allowing us to measure future educational outreach by that standard.” This definition states: Financial literacy is the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one’s financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security. Many sources also argue that a sound understanding of personal finance must address and allow for flexibility in order to handle the uncertainties that daily life often hands us. And that, as we all know, is where complications set in.
A financial plan can never account for every twist or turn in the road, but it can, like a roadmap, help you through the roughest terrain. And a solid understanding of the tools out there as well as the know-how in implementing these tools is considered important to good financial literacy.
VCC Savings hopes to elevate awareness of and advance financial literacy. We recognize the wisdom of collaborating with well-positioned partners and our financial literacy efforts continue this strategy. VCC’s Community Capital Bank (CCB) also offers custodial accounts for youth and other matched or “incentivized” savings programs, such as Virginia’s Individual Development Account (VIDA) program. CCB is an FDIC-insured depository institution and was approved as a VIDA bank last year.
Learn more about these tools and resources at the VCC Web site (www.vacommunitycapital.org) or by contacting any of our offices (Christiansburg, 540-260-3126 ext 102, or Richmond, 804-344-5484). And join us in building our collective financial literacy!
About Virginia Community Capital:
With offices in Christiansburg and Richmond, Virginia Community Capital (VCC) is dedicated to the prospect of building wealth for all through our lending, savings, and advisory services. As a community development financial institution (CDFI), our mission is to offer innovative, flexible financial products designed to support housing and community development ventures, increase jobs, and encourage sustainable communities. In partnership with our for-profit bank, Community Capital Bank of Virginia (CCB), the non-profit VCC offers loan capital broader and more flexible than bank lending in low- to moderate-income communities in underserved geographies and markets. Learn more at vacommunitycapital.org.
