First Nebraska Bank Reaches 749 Students Since Inception Of Its Financial Education Program

More than 400 students reached during the 2018-2019 school year

First Nebraska Bank strives to improve the financial well-being of the communities that we serve, and financial wellness is a key piece of that commitment.

"Our commitment to our community continued through 2019 with our financial education program intended to reach students with personal finance knowledge at critical ages in their development. The program is specifically designed knowing the impact and scale of interactive learning and its ability to build financial capability and skills for students at a young age,” said Lydell L. Woodbury, president, First Nebraska Bank.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, nine Nebraska schools implemented First Nebraska Bank’s Financial Literacy Program, a free, digital financial education program. First Nebraska Bank has partnered with leading education technology company EVERFI, Inc., to bring this interactive, web-based financial management program to more than 749 students since the program’s inception in the spring of 2018.

The 404 students reached through First Nebraska Bank’s programs have completed 1,736 individual modules of learning during the 2018-19 school year. Students’ understanding of key financial topics rose by an average 74% based on pre- and post-assessment scores. Among the valuable topics covered were saving, banking, investing, renting versus owning, credit scores, taxes and insurance, and consumer fraud.

The First Nebraska Bank Financial Literacy Program reaches students with an interactive course designed to empower young people with the essential skills needed to make sound financial decisions. This classroom-based resource allows students to move through critical topics at their own pace. Complicated processes – like buying a car or filling out the FAFSA form – are broken down for the student in an easy-to-understand way. Additional topics include understanding a pay stub, savings and investing, and banking basics.

The technology, provided by EVERFI, is a CFPB recommended resource and is accessible to schools and students at no cost, thanks to First Nebraska Bank’s investment. The program also includes pre and post-assessments and educator resources that allow teachers to track student progress and quantifiable measures of students’ knowledge gain.

The program has had the following impact:

• Students who completed the First Nebraska Bank Financial Literacy Program increased their understanding of credit scores by over 240%.
• Students also felt the course improved their understanding of financial aid and loans to help pay for college by 178%.
• The program has already helped more than 15 schools in the region to provide quality, easy to implement financial education.

"Helping students and adults develop a foundation of financial understanding and capability is absolutely critical," said EVERFI Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. We are grateful for our partnership with First Nebraska Bank who is tackling this issue head-on and taking positive steps to prepare young people with the critical financial management skills needed to be savvy, responsible consumers.”

First Nebraska Bank also offers short, free online courses for adults. These courses contain topics relevant to personal or business finances at https://www.firstnebraska.bank/financial-education/