New Oregon State Treasury award to recognize financial empowerment champions
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Across Oregon, financial empowerment champions are helping people build more secure lives. On Tuesday, State Treasurer Tobias Read announced a new opportunity to recognize and celebrate their efforts.
As part of a new initiative to highlight and improve financial literacy and wellness efforts, Treasurer Read and Oregon State Treasury are launching a new annual award that will recognize standout educators and organizations that help boost financial empowerment in their communities.
“We are all in this together. Anything that connects more Oregonians to resources that boost financial security and confidence will help us all in the long run,” said Treasurer Read. “The Oregon Treasury Financial Empowerment Awards will highlight the champions who are going the extra mile to improve financial education and financial wellness in our communities.”
Two awards will be granted each year: one will recognize a teacher, and the other will highlight a business, organization, or education enterprise. The nomination deadline is March 1, 2022.
The new awards are sponsored in partnership with the Oregon College Savings Plan, a Treasury program that helps Oregonians statewide save for job training and higher education costs – which reduces the need for student debt later.
The Financial Empowerment Educator will receive $1,500, plus $500 for their school. In addition, a group of students at the school – chosen at random – will share $500 in scholarships from the Oregon College Savings Plan.
The Financial Empowerment Community Champion organization will receive $2,000, plus will be able to “pay it forward” and select another financial empowerment-focused organization or effort to receive $500.
The awards are part of an initiative at Treasury that will amplify and elevate financial literacy and inclusion efforts statewide, and are part of a suite of recommendations from a citizen panel that met in early 2021.
The recommendations also call for making financial education resources more accessible statewide, for increasing financial empowerment outreach in underrepresented communities, and for better coordination to advance financial education efforts and public policy.
The group also suggested the creation of a new committee to help maintain and focus awareness on financial literacy and wellness. That panel, which is chaired by the Treasurer, meets for the first time today, November 16, with regular meetings to follow.
More information and the nomination form are available here. Nominations also require one to two letters of recommendation.
Questions? Contact us at FinancialEmpowerment@ost.state.or.us.
