Bonzy Charities’ Financial Literacy Day- program, which brings basic financial education to elementary school-age children, is supported by financial institutions across the country. Our financial literacy programs for kids are great resources for schools in teaching early learners the importance of saving and making good spending choices.
Financial education is a national movement, with 45 states now mandating it as part of K-12 curriculum. Unfortunately, for elementary school students, there it is a curriculum gap for crucial topics such as saving, budgeting, planning, donating and making good decisions. Financial Literacy Days were developed for elementary school-aged students, providing them valuable financial knowledge through storytelling Financial Literacy Days are also great team-building events for banks.
Our series of illustrated children’s books by Doug Godard, beginning with Best Day at the Zoo, teaches young children about personal financial literacy with storytelling in the writing style commonly used by Dr. Seuss. In addition to promoting this concept in classrooms via Financial Literacy Days, Bonzy has also donated copies of its books to libraries as another way to deliver financial education for children to a broader audience.
We work with a variety of financial institutions, which fund the Financial Literacy Day events and provide the volunteers who read to the classrooms. The events offer a great opportunity for banks, savings and loans, and credit unions and their associates to volunteer and make a difference in their communities.
On Financial Literacy Days, volunteers go into classrooms and conduct interactive read-alouds with students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Every student receives a copy of the book to keep and take home. Learning Guides – which reinforce the financial literacy vocabulary and concepts promoted in the books, can be downloaded for free from the Bonzy Charities website. The Learning Guides are used by teachers as lesson plans.
Bonzy works with banks in their Assessment Areas across the United States. Bonzy has developed a national database containing more than 100,000 bank branches and 90,000 public schools. Banks specify which Assessment Areas they would like to have a more significant impact in, and Bonzy will report by state, county, and MSA the school districts and schools on which the banks could focus. Data includes the percentage of students at a school participating in free or reduced-price meal programs. The OCC has recognized activities related to schools where a majority of students receive free or reduced-priced meals under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program as activities that qualify as supporting children from low- and moderate-income families.
Financial Literacy Days offer an excellent opportunity for students to build on their knowledge of saving, budgeting, planning, donating, and making good choices. The concepts presented in the books authored by Doug Godard conform with the National Learning Standards for Personal Financial Literacy for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, which is commonly used as the basis for required curriculum in 45 states. The books and the Learning Guide were written for the Financial Literacy Model Curriculum for kindergarten through third grade. The model curriculum creates a foundation for the Middle Grades Financial Literacy Standard, and is ultimately beneficial for high school students, who are now required to take a financial literacy course as a requirement for graduation in 26 states.
If you would like to provide a financial literacy foundation for a child from a low- or moderate-income family by purchasing a book, please click the button below. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, issued Bonzy Charities two Determination Letters acknowledging that Financial Literacy Days activities qualify for CRA Credit.
In 2023, The Office of the Comptroller of the United States, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, issued Bonzy Charities an acknowledgment letter. The letter determined that the following qualifies as a CRA Eligible Activity:
Banks can also receive credit for service hours for reading to children. Financial Literacy Days are a win-win for schools and for banks, and will be impactful in placing children on a path of financial success in life.
If you want to learn more about supporting Financial Literacy Days as a financial institution, please reach out to us today.