Regions Bank was honored at the second annual Innovation in Financial Education Awards presented by Nasdaq and EverFi. The award recognizes Regions Bank’s significant efforts to improve the financial capability of Americans through unique digital learning initiatives. Regions Bank was honored with this distinction at a ceremony hosted on April 6 at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City.
Honorees were selected based on a set of criteria that included the scale and reach of their financial education initiatives, the duration of their commitment and unique employee volunteering activities that supplement their programs.
Ginny Franks accepts the award for Regions
“Helping students and adults develop a foundation of financial understanding and capability is absolutely critical,” said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. “The organizations we’re recognizing are tackling this issue head-on and taking positive steps to prepare millions of people with the critical financial management skills needed to move our country forward.”
Regions is committed to providing students with the skills and knowledge needed to successfully navigate the increasingly complex financial world we live in. Regions partners with EverFi to bring the Regions Bank Financial Scholars Program to high school classrooms in seven states, in addition to select universities, at no cost to schools or taxpayers. The program has reached more than 53,500 students since 2010. Including adult financial education, the number of people reached is over 70,000. The web-based program uses simulation and gaming technologies to bring complex financial concepts to life for the digital generation.
“The key to helping children understand how to manage money is to begin working with them at an early age, while presenting information in a manner that is interactive and engaging,” said Ginny Franks, financial education and content manager for Regions Bank. “We work with schools throughout the South, Midwest and Texas to support financial education that meets the needs of individual classrooms. Our work is made stronger thanks to the partnership we have with EverFi. This connects students with cutting-edge courses that empower students with skills that can last a lifetime. For younger students, it may be a basic introduction to money concepts. For older students, we dive deeper into budgeting, investing, managing a credit score and more. The end result is students are better prepared to avoid financial mistakes – and to successfully handle real-world financial matters.”
While more states are implementing standards in personal finance, only 17 states require high school students to take a course in personal finance, according to the Council for Economic Education (CEE). Regions partners with EverFi to implement Regions Bank Financial Scholars Program in a co-curricular basis, giving students the opportunity to develop healthy financial attitudes and behaviors in a classroom setting. Data collected from more than 10,000 students who completed the Regions Bank Financial Scholars Program in the 2014-2015 academic year revealed that students’ financial understanding increased by an average of 93 percent after completing the curriculum.
Administered by teachers in a classroom setting, the web-based course offers over six hours of programming on topics such as credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401(k) plans and other concepts. The skills that are taught complement national financial literacy standards. The platform also tracks the progress and performance of every student.
Regions Bank also partners with EverFi to offer financial education to select colleges and universities through sponsorships. In addition, digital financial education is available to Region Bank customers and associates on any device through dynamic courses created by EverFi.