CHANGING KIDS’ LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Welcome to the 2021 forth quarter RMJ Foundation Newsletter
New RMJ Board Members
The RMJ Foundation is excited to announce the two newest members to the RMJ Board: Latrice McGlothin and Mike Jones. Latrice is the Executive Director, Kinecta Community Foundation at Kinecta Federal Credit Union. Latrice is also an avid user of the Bite of Reality® Program. Latrice will be serving a three-year term as a board member. Mike is the Member Education Director at Educational Employees Credit Union and teaches financial education topics in a variety of workshops and seminars for credit union members and the Fresno community at large. Mike has taken a seat as an associate member, a new position on the RMJ Board.
On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, we would like to extend a special thank you to Beth Dooley with Educators Credit Union for her years of service as a board member. Thank you for your advice, dedication, and support of the RMJ Foundation over the past nine years!
On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, we would like to extend a special thank you to Beth Dooley with Educators Credit Union for her years of service as a board member. Thank you for your advice, dedication, and support of the RMJ Foundation over the past nine years!
Financial education
Bite of Reality®
In 2021 credit unions nationwide delivered more than 250 Bite of Reality fairs and reached nearly 20,000 students in 2021! With the continuing growth of the program, we look forward to seeing how many teens we can reach in 2022.
Bite of Reality (BOR) is starting to slowly take place in person once again. We have updated all our in-person materials to reflect the credit score and other changes we made to the BOR2 app in 2020. In January of 2022 all the new merchant materials will be sent to all credit unions that house a BOR kit.
We will continue to offer the remote version of Bite of Reality for free nationwide until the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
The National Youth Involvement Board (NYIB)
NYIB has changed its name to Credit Union Financial Education Network. You can access its new website at https://www.cufen.org/our-mission.
The reporting site has been updated to make it more user friendly and easier for credit unions to report financial fair numbers. During the transition, there is no reporting taking place, but will begin with the start of the next school year. We will notify all BOR Facilitators once reporting has opened to report all their financial fairs, along with instructions on how to complete the new report.
california and nevada credit union leagues reach conference
The RMJ Foundation attended this year’s REACH conference in Palm Desert. The California and Nevada
Credit Union Leagues did a fantastic job creating a conference that was educational, full of great
guest speakers and lots of fun and networking.
RMJ Dream Vacation Raffle sponsored by CO-OP Financial Services
This year’s RMJ Dream Vacation brought in more than $3,000 from ticket sales to the Foundation to help support financial education. With chapters not holding in-person meetings, the only opportunity to buy tickets was at the REACH conference, where we held the drawing for the winning ticket. Congratulations to Navazeh Tajer, who won $3500 toward a vacation of her choice to take any time in 2022.
The 2021 RMJ Silent Auction at REACH
This year’s silent auction had 29 items donated that raised more than $5,000. Thank you to our supporting sponsors that donated items to the auction and to everyone who participated!
BOR at REACH
This year we had a hybrid version of Bite of Reality at REACH. The room was set up as an in-person event for REACH attendees to experience a “Bite,” while the students joined us virtually from their classroom. The 30 students from Amistad High School were greeted by a volunteer at each merchant station and were presented the buying options at that station. Thank you to Heri Garcia from Thinkwise CU for facilitating the event and George San Martin, Vanessa Alonso - Gonzalez, Veronica Dangerfield, Diane Kotlewski, Diana Kot, Brent Tercero, Darren Neilson, and Christie Powell for volunteering and helping to make it a successful event.
RMJ Donor Appreciation Gala Presented by PSCU
This year’s RMJ Donor Appreciation Gala Presented by PSCU was held at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. Guests were greeted by a real-life porcupine that gave guests a high-five! Guests were also able to see a leopard wandering behind glass while they greeted old friends and were introduced to new ones.
Thank you to everyone who supported the RMJ Foundation in 2021 and for attending this year’s Donor Appreciation Gala. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in 2022. Click Here to view photos from the event.
This year’s RMJ Donor Appreciation Gala Presented by PSCU was held at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. Guests were greeted by a real-life porcupine that gave guests a high-five! Guests were also able to see a leopard wandering behind glass while they greeted old friends and were introduced to new ones.
Thank you to everyone who supported the RMJ Foundation in 2021 and for attending this year’s Donor Appreciation Gala. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in 2022. Click Here to view photos from the event.
fundraising
Credit Union Preservation Society (CUPS)
The Credit Union Preservation Society, a group of retired credit union professionals who stayed connected and worked to engage with the credit union movement, recently disbanded and selected the RMJ Foundation as the recipient of its remaining funds. We thank Judy Hurst, the CUPS Administrator, and all the members of the group for entrusting us with their funds.
The Credit Union Preservation Society, a group of retired credit union professionals who stayed connected and worked to engage with the credit union movement, recently disbanded and selected the RMJ Foundation as the recipient of its remaining funds. We thank Judy Hurst, the CUPS Administrator, and all the members of the group for entrusting us with their funds.
financial corner brought to you by pscu
The Young Have an Asset Money Can’t Buy: Time
Imagine our success as financial health providers if we could implant just two words in every young American’s brain that would set them on the trajectory of financial well-being. These magic words? “Compound interest.”
The best gift we can give to graduating Gen Zers and to Millennials entering the workforce is intentional outreach to ensure that they actively leverage the asset of time that they have at this important point in their lives. Helping younger members understand that compound interest multiplies their money at an accelerating rate – and that a small amount of money, invested wisely, can turn into a lot of cash – can help establish a strong financial foundation.
Using your credit union distribution channels to share examples can make compound interest come to life for both younger members and credit union staff. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provides an easy to use a calculator that the shows the power of compound interest.
Top investors cite compound interest as one reason for their success and, in everyday practice, compound interest helps people accrue sufficient capital to live. Being a financial health provider means meeting members where they are and providing resources that promote better outcomes. By viewing your payments products and services, as well as your credit union’s educational outreach, through the lens of financial well-being, you can effectively nudge members to better outcomes – at each stage of their life. Website link: https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
Imagine our success as financial health providers if we could implant just two words in every young American’s brain that would set them on the trajectory of financial well-being. These magic words? “Compound interest.”
The best gift we can give to graduating Gen Zers and to Millennials entering the workforce is intentional outreach to ensure that they actively leverage the asset of time that they have at this important point in their lives. Helping younger members understand that compound interest multiplies their money at an accelerating rate – and that a small amount of money, invested wisely, can turn into a lot of cash – can help establish a strong financial foundation.
Using your credit union distribution channels to share examples can make compound interest come to life for both younger members and credit union staff. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provides an easy to use a calculator that the shows the power of compound interest.
Top investors cite compound interest as one reason for their success and, in everyday practice, compound interest helps people accrue sufficient capital to live. Being a financial health provider means meeting members where they are and providing resources that promote better outcomes. By viewing your payments products and services, as well as your credit union’s educational outreach, through the lens of financial well-being, you can effectively nudge members to better outcomes – at each stage of their life. Website link: https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
2021 has been a successful year for the RMJ Foundation. In 2022 we will continue to focus on current programs that help credit union bring financial education to their communities and look for new ways to bring financial wellness to all of our communities!