Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Hale.
Courtney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Knowledge Bank began as a financial literacy summer camp for five teenagers. Shortly afterward, we secured our first community partnership with the YMCA, where we added financial education to one of their after-school programs. Today, we have over 50 organizational partners, working with young people from kindergarten through graduate school. We’ve been the financial education partner for multiple Summer Youth Employment programs across the country. We’ve helped teens save $300,000 through these partnerships.
This year we rebranded to Super Money Kids Co. as we shifted our focus to our Super Money Kids Bank and virtual curriculum. Super Money Kids is a foundational financial education program for students in elementary and middle school. The curriculum is designed around our home bank that has three parts for saving, spending and sharing. Students learn healthy money behaviors and build pride in their identities. Students also set a financial goal and develop an entrepreneurial idea. The program also supports student achievement in math. Each participating student gets to keep their Super Money Kid Bank after completing the program.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In the early years, we struggled to transition from a program funding by my wife and I to securing public support and grants. Up until 2018, Knowledge Bank was my side passion project. By day, I worked in corporate finance. Therefore, I struggled to balance my career with my passion while having to ensure that I was present as a husband and father. The next big challenge was leaving corporate America to run a Knowledge Bank full time. I took a huge pay cut. There was uncertainty around the direction of the company. Should we focus on teens, add adult programming. We had tested higher ed and early childhood education. I knew that we could not be a great organization without a singular focus. And that’s the revelation that leads to rebranding as Super Money Kids Co. and our focus on elementary and middle school students.
The biggest challenge to date occurred in May of this year. I lost my wife who passed due to a heart transplant rejection. After a traumatic loss, you never know how you’ll emerge. I had serious thoughts about quitting, so I could focus on raising my daughter. However, through lots of prayer, love and support, we’ve been able to continue our financial literacy work with a lot of momentum, including corporate sponsorships from Citizens Bank, one of the nation’s oldest black banks, Asurion and global money manager Alliance Bernstein.
Please tell us about Super Money Kids.
We design experiences to improve the financial literacy of youth. Our two cornerstone programs are Super Money Kids and kBCoins. Super Money Kids is a foundational financial education program for students in elementary and middle school. The curriculum is designed around a home bank that has three parts for saving, spending and sharing. Students learn healthy money behaviors. They set a financial goal and develop an entrepreneurial idea. The program also supports student achievement in math. Each participating student gets to keep their bank after completing the program.
kBCoins is a financial education program designed for teens. It builds on the concepts of Super Money kids and introduces concepts like building credit, investing and entrepreneurship. kBCoins has been incorporated into Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville’s Summer Youth Program and workforce development programs throughout the country. Teens have saved over $300,000 through kBCoins.
We are most proud of our outcomes. Over 4,000 young people have participated in our programs. Teens have saved over $300,000 and created over 1,000 savings goals. There are three major characteristics that differentiate us from other organizations who do similar work. First, diversity and representation are pillars of our work and critical to building stronger relationships between the financial services industry and communities of color. Second, we can be more creative with our direct programming. For example, we developed a bank to help kids better understand money. Lastly, we’re not going through the motions. We use financial literacy as a tool to inspire ambition. Not just a check box or a requirement that we routinely must satisfy.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my favorite memories from childhood played out over several years and was only indirectly related to me. It actually had to do with my mom. My mom was an amazing creative. She was and still is a very talented seamstress. She used to make everything from easter baskets, bows and dresses for my sister and even reupholstered our living room furniture. My mom always searched for ways to monetize her talents and seeing her planted the seed of entrepreneurship within me. Seeing her also inspired me to empower others to monetized from their talents and abilities as well.
Pricing:
- Readers can purchase the Super Money Kid Bank at https://supermoneykids.co/ for $32.95.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://supermoneykids.co/
- Email: chale@knowledgebank.money
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supermoneykidsco/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJHhaBx4SQQ
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