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The Improving Financial Awareness
& Financial Literacy movement
For those just learning about The Movement or who have not participated in the past, here is a great opportunity for you to create goodwill, meet new people, and create new revenue opportunities for you and your organization, while performing a very important and valuable community service. Please become a part of this important movement!

A Very Big Social Challenge That Requires Attention Now!

With so many people on the verge of running out of money before their life expectancy, many families burdened with large amounts of student loans and other forms of debt.  Combined with the fact that more than half of our adults do not have nor understand why it is importance to hane an up-to-date financial, estate or gift plan to protect themselves and their families creates a very serious problem. This lack of financial awareness and financial literacy places a huge and growing amount of pressure on families and friends, employers, nonprofits, as well as the governments. This is not just a domestic epidemic, it is an international one!

Do You Realize?

As you may know, most people are never taught the essential principles of smart money management and are provided with very little personal money knowledge at home or school. This leaves them vulnerable to become victims in many of their everyday money decisions, which jeopardizes almost every aspect of their lives, including their health and well-being, financial security and any hopes of financial independence or even an adequate retirement.

Just in the US, we currently have more than 10,000 people reaching age 65 daily; many will run out of money before they die. Many families are burdened with large amounts of student loans and other forms of growing debt. This lack of financial understanding has created further problems as more than ½ of our adult population don’t have nor understand why they need an up-to-date financial, estate and gift plans to protect themselves and their families. We have a serious problem. This lack of financial awareness, along with the financial illiteracy epidemic places a HUGE growing amount of pressure on families and friends, employers, nonprofits; as well as the ultimate safety net the government. This is not just a local epidemic - it’s an international one. And these societal problems/challenges are not limited to the US . . . they are worldwide.

The Strategy

To help address the lack of financial awareness and the financial illiteracy epidemic we began taking an active leadership role to recognize organizations and their management, and individuals that are championing improving financial awareness and financial literacy. We are then uniting them with other associations, organizations, nonprofits, educational institutions, municipalities, employers, and news media to actively focus their vast community resources into The Improving Financial Awareness &; Financial Literacy Movement with its semi-annual concentrated personal finance content media blitz around the strategic campaign venues
  • Financial Literacy Month (April) and six months later with
  • Estate and Gift Planning Awareness Month (October) (We worked with Congressman Thompson’s Office during 2007 and 2008 to help create an Estate Planning Awareness proclamation that was co-authored by 50 bi-partisan Congresswomen & Congressmen; we have helped advance and promote it since.)

    The plan is to touch everyone at least twice a year through these strategic campaign venues, with educational and motivating content, reminders and tools for making wise informed lifelong   financial decisions and to get and keep your financial house in order by having current financial, estate and gift plans. 

    The objective is to encourage financial / nonprofit / education professionals and their organizations, employers, municipalities, and the news media to actively participate in this movement by sharing some of their knowledge to alert, educate, motivate, and assist everyone to cost effectively establish and keep their financial, estate and gift plans current. We understand that this is a massive undertaking; however, it’s being accomplished through leading organizations and their associates that include:


    Together these organizations represent nearly 1,000,000 financial professionals. The accountants, attorneys, estate planners, financial planners and advisors, insurance agents and brokers, trust officers, and nonprofit executive directors and development officers that are members of these organizations are helping to mobilize the financial and estate planning and nonprofit communities by providing support, tools, and education for their professionals and the general public they serve.

    2020 The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement Distinguished Co- Honorees

    Each year we recognize and honor a distinguished group of hard working ‘Thought Leaders’ for their outstanding individual efforts in improving financial awareness and financial literacy. It gives us great pleasure to recognize this year’s Co- Honorees representing Thought Leadership in Academia, Financial Services, News Media and Nonprofits are

    Representing Academia Thought Leadership - The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Center at Makerere University – Kampala Uganda
    Dr. Winston Tumps Ireeta, Chairperson / Counselor
    Dr. David Ddumba, Founding Executive Director / CEO
    Dr. Juma Kasozi, Vice Executive Director
    Ammex Ssebidde, Founding Chief Operating Officer (COO), Alumni Makerere University, Executive Director – Mercy-Giving
    Over the last year these fine gentlemen have been working on creating The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Center at Makerere University – Kampala Uganda. The Research Center will be taking a leadership role in rolling out
    • The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement in Uganda
    • The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy University Program at Makerere University

    Representing Financial Services Thought Leadership
    Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Board Chair and President, Charles Schwab Foundation, Senior Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. & Board Chair, Schwab Charitable

    Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, CFP®, is a leading advocate for financial literacy and one of America's most trusted sources for financial advice. She has devoted her career to helping men and women from all walks of life achieve financial security. In addition, she oversees Schwab's corporate philanthropy and employee volunteer programs, which aim to strengthen the communities where Schwab operates.

    Representing News Media Thought Leadership
    Stephan R. Leimberg, CEO of Leimberg and LeClair, Inc.,

    Stephan R. Leimberg is CEO of Leimberg and LeClair, Inc., an estate and financial planning software company and publishing and software company in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

    Stephan is also the Publisher of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. which provides e-mail based news, opinion, and information for tax professionals, and the author of numerous books on estate, financial, and employee benefit and retirement planning and a nationally known speaker.

    Representing Nonprofit Thought Leadership
    Kimberly Yee, Treasurer State of Arizona

    The Honorable Kimberly Yee serves as the 36th Treasurer of Arizona and as Arizona's chief banking and investment officer. A longtime advocate of financial literacy, she passed laws during her legislative tenure to require the state’s academic standards to include financial education benchmarks in grades K-12 and developed a state seal on high school diplomas earned by students who master proficiency in personal finance.

    Elena Zee is President and CEO of the Arizona Council on Economic Education

    Elena is very passionate about education, professional development, economic empowerment, and international exchange. She is also a former Certified Financial Planner™ and has taught financial planning and economics at universities. The Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving economic and personal financial literacy in Arizona, serves over 1,800 schools across 104 cities in Arizona.

    They are strong supporters and advocates for improving financial awareness and financial literacy and excellent role models within their respective industries; please follow their leads and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

    Who Benefits From This Undertaking?

  • Families benefit by learning the essential principles to smart money; it empowers them to make better informed productive everyday money decisions, save time and money with their financial advisors and product providers, and have the best possibilities to reach and maintain their personal and family financial dreams, to enjoy a financially secure, debt-free future, while passing on their values, knowledge and assets to future generations to make their lives and this world a better place.
  • "Employers benefit from having employees who are less stressed, happier and more productive.
  • Financial institutions and their professionals benefit by acquiring new business from more informed and motivated clients.
  • Nonprofits benefit with increased donations, planned gifts, alternate beneficiary selections and bequests from more informed and motivated donors and volunteers.
  • Philanthropists benefits by helping to solve a major social problem that leads to better world.
  • Academic Institutions benefit by having alumni, faculty and staff who are less stressed, happier and more productive and more philanthropic.
  • The news media benefits by providing its audience with timely valuable information.
  • Municipalities benefit by having happier and financially successful constituents, and a reduced strain on social welfare services.
  • Everyone actually benefits with a stronger and financially sound economy and a better world.

  • This is a great opportunity to "strengthen relationships” with clients and prospects and associates, generate new revenue opportunities for financial service / nonprofit / education professionals, while producing needed gifts and bequests for many educational institutions and nonprofits.

    Most importantly, this also goes a long way to solving the lack of financial awareness and financial illiteracy epidemic.

    Together we have the potential to help solve a major social challenge by advancing and contributing to one of the most broad-based, multifaceted moments for improving financial awareness and financial literacy while advancing philanthropy.

    SOME Fun And Easy Ways To Participate  

    1. Place financial and estate planning editorial content into your website, newsletters, social media groups, local newspapers, and radio/television/web-based shows and ads, in support of Financial Literacy Month and Estate & Gift Planning Awareness Month. If you need content see the sample articles found in the downloads section or contact us.

    2. Add the "We Support Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Icon" to your website with a link to:
    http://home.thefinancialawarenessfoundation.org/images/cobrand.jpg (Click on the icon below to download it)

    Download Now    

    3. Add an “Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Page" to your website, newspaper, and magazine. This is an excellent opportunity to show your support and to provide your employees, clients, prospects, and members of your community with a great platform to share important financial information.

    4. Initiating local community-wide seminars (similar to job fairs) that focus on improving financial awareness and financial literacy.

    5. Encouraging groups to host or take part national webinars built around estate and financial planning during the months of April and October.

    6. Talk to your colleagues, associates, members, friends and family about The Movement and encourage them to support and participate.

    7. Circulating financial awareness campaign materials and the found in the "Download Section" to your members, colleagues, associates, and encouraging them to support and participate.

    Global financial literacy initiatives are increasing and we are contacted regularly for assistance and ideas from around the world. In 2018 we began assisting in the creation of The Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; this will touch ~ 150 million people; this is modeled after our work in the US.

    As you may know in many parts of the world financial literacy deals only with savings, budgeting and debt management and many have never heard or thought about comprehensive financial planning which also includes: helping people get and stay organized, establishing personal and financial goals, retirement planning, planning for major expenditures, investment planning, tax planning, risk management planning, and estate, gift and charitable planning.

    We wonder what the global societal and economic impact on the world’s markets will be if we can significantly increase the quality of life and buying power of THE PEOPLE around the world through The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Movement.

    We believe this will go a long way towards solving many of the world’s current social challenges while benefiting ‘The Entire Community’ by having happier and financially successful constituents, creating jobs and helping to build a robust economy, while reducing poverty, crime, and the strain on social welfare services.

    For more information on this subject, go to our main menu and click on "Downloads".  Scroll down until you see a Yellow Banner with the title "The International Financial Awareness & Literacy Movement”.

    The Employer / Community Programs

    For municipalities, employers, and organizations for their residents, employees, patrons, and prospects this thought provoking program is more than just a source educational financial information and advice. It is a complete personal financial management system - a clear step-by-step process designed to help organize the participant's financial affairs and provides them with the essentials principles to smart personal money management - the foundation to personal finance knowledge. The program provides the participants with the sustainable tools so they can better address financial challenges and advance toward achieving and maintaining their personal and family financial and philanthropic goals, while reducing debt and the stress that surrounds this area of life.

    The City of Monterey and its Public Library (The oldest in California) made this presentation to their patrons and the Greater Monterey Bay Area Residents as a Community Gift. This can be a wonderful community service and an excellent development tool for local nonprofits. What do you think about this for communities you and your colleagues touch? For more information on this subject, go to our main menu and click on "Downloads". Scroll down until you see a Yellow Banner with the title "Financial Awareness & Literacy Programs".

    Academic Programs

    We are developing Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Programs for Universities and Colleges. Universities and Colleges are in a strategic position to materially improve the lives of its students, alumni, faculty and administrative personnel, and supporters. This happens through their current education programs and through a new addition to life-long learning and a life-long connection to the people that make up their community.

    By providing graduating students, faculty and administrative personnel, alumni, and supporters (The Community) access to the Your financialPARTNER University / College Program™ you are building a lifelong bond and social media connection while giving your community the secrets of smart money and essential principles to smart money management - the foundation to personal finance knowledge. This is an excellent life-long learning program for graduating students, faculty and staff, and alumni while helping with development efforts at schools you touch.

    These have been piloted at the University of Miami - School of Law for its graduating class, the student athletes at Sonoma State University to its graduating athletes, and (USC) University of Southern California Emeriti College, and Miami Dade College which launched the first Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Student Club.

    In 2019 at Makerere University in Uganda we established the first International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Center; Makerere University is the largest University in Uganda with a student enrollment of 35,000. We hope to globally link together universities and colleges through research centers like this.

    There is ‘No-Cost’ to this quality program and it’s presented by your financial service alumni and can be recorded and edited on campus so you can control the message and content!!! We are also working on establishing The International Improving Financial Awareness & Financial Literacy Research Center within the colleges and universities we touch and to globally linking them together.

    Several TFAF Ambassadors are exploring using elements of the colligate programs at high schools.

    For more information on this subject, go to our main menu and click on "Downloads". Scroll down until you see a Yellow Banner with the title "Financial Awareness & Literacy Programs".

    On behalf of The Financial Awareness Foundation, our Board of Directors, TFAF Ambassadors and the participating associations, organizations, nonprofits, and professionals, we thank you for your efforts and for assisting us in having a positive ongoing impact on improving financial awareness and financial literacy across the country, and around the world.

    Respectfully submitted,
    Valentino Sabuco, Executive Director
    The Financial Awareness Foundation
    A 501(c) (3) Nonprofit
    Dedicated to Substantially "Improving financial awareness & financial literacy..." SM