Prosperity Connection and The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis Launch Financial Education Curriculum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:

Abby Clavin, MSW

Assistant Director-Operations

Prosperity Connection

314-534-7610 x2229

aclavin@prosperityconnection.org

or

Karin McElwain-West

External Relations Director

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

314-725-7990

karin@sfstl.org

ORGANIZATIONS TEAM UP FOR ST. LOUIS YOUNG ADULTS

Prosperity Connection and The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis Launch Integrated Curriculum Addressing Financial Education and College Affordability

St. Louis, MO [May 10, 2017] – Prosperity Connection and The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis are excited to announce the launch of Financing Your Future, a new integrated curriculum to address financial education and college affordability for students and their families. Through a cooperative funding partnership with Equifax, the organizations came together to create the curriculum for use within their target markets.

“This breakthrough curriculum assists adolescents and adults seeking information on how to navigate higher education and effectively manage money during and beyond school,” said Abby Clavin, Assistant Director of Operations – Prosperity Connection

“Financial literacy is one strategy, among many, critical in supporting economic well-being in today’s society. The Financing Your Future curriculum empowers participants to make informed financial decisions across a range of financial matters, including college affordability,” said Teresa Stock Steinkamp, Advising Director—The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

A pilot study was conducted to gather additional information regarding the implementation of the curriculum, logistical considerations, participant feedback and results from pre- and post-test data. Participants were 17- and 18-year-olds who signed up for the class through Kingdom House. Topics covered within Financing Your Future include banking, budgeting, credit, identity theft, predatory lending, college financing, understanding financial aid, and the implications of satisfactory academic progress on financing.

Students provided substantial feedback regarding their experience. Participants particularly enjoyed the depth of information presented and the resources that were provided. Students commented that while aspects of the course may have been slightly reminiscent of other personal finance classes taken in high school, the interactive lesson instruction and small class size contributed to their enhanced understanding of the material.

“Equifax is committed to the financial futures of individuals and communities and we recognize that positive lasting impact starts with strong partnerships like the ones we have with The Scholarship Foundation and Prosperity Connection. The new financial education curriculum represents the best of collaboration and will bring a valuable new tool to our St. Louis communities. Moreover, Equifax recognizes that financial education delivered in a vacuum is less effective than when paired with access to capital, workforce development resources, paid internships and other opportunities to apply the new learning. Equifax will work with The Scholarship Foundation and Prosperity Connection to match those complimentary supportive structures to the new curriculum,” said David Stiffler, Director of Community Affairs – Equifax.

Prosperity Connection plans on launching the curriculum with the assistance of trained volunteers in the coming months.

For more information on the curriculum and how to access it, please contact Abby Clavin at aclavin@prosperityconnection.org.

About Prosperity Connection

Prosperity Connection is an independent 501(c)(3). Since 2009, the organization has successfully helped individuals and families earn economic independence through financial education, community services and low cost banking options in an effort to improve their standard of living and better their lifestyle. Prosperity Connection consists of two outreach entities: the RedDough Money Center (a non-profit alternative to payday lending and check cashing services) and the Excel Center (a destination point for free financial education and one-on-one financial counseling). For more information, please visit www.prosperityconnection.org.

About The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, a nonprofit organization founded in 1920, is based upon the conviction that an educated citizenry is essential to a democracy. The Scholarship Foundation provides access to postsecondary education to members of our community who otherwise would not have the financial means to fulfill their educational goals. Annually, more than 500 students are awarded approximately $4 million in direct financial support in the form of interest-free loans and grants from The Scholarship Foundation. For more information, visit www.sfstl.org.

About Equifax

Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses trusted unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its database includes employee data contributed from more than 7,100 employers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,500 employees worldwide.

Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Named to the Top 100 American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015-2016); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2016); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2016); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015-2016). For more information, visit www.equifax.com.