Free Financial Literacy Program: DASH for the Stash | Compendium

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Free Financial Literacy Program: DASH for the Stash

by | Feb 28, 2017 | Academic Libraries, Glenn R. Miller Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Libraries, Resources of Interest

Glenn R. Miller

Glenn R. Miller, Acting Deputy Secretary and Commisioner for LibrariesOffice of Commonwealth Libraries
Glenn Miller, Deputy Secretary & Commissioner for Libraries

Has your public, school or academic library been looking for a financial literacy program that is easy to implement, free, and provides unbiased educational information for your customers?

If so, please consider participating in the PA Department of Banking and Securities free 2017 DASH for the STASH investor education and protection program.  Offered in partnership with the Investor Protection Institute, the DASH for the STASH program might be a great way to educate your constituents about saving and investing for retirement.

What is DASH for the STASH?
The financial literacy program features a series of four content-rich posters, each on a different topic that participating libraries post.  The four topics include what you should know about:

  1. Building a Nest Egg
  2. Financial Advisors
  3. Investment Fees
  4. Investor Fraud

Your customers participate in the program by reading the content on each poster, then scanning each poster’s unique QR code to obtain that topic’s quiz question, and submitting their answers via smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Why Would My Customers Be Interested?
Beside learning about saving and investing techniques, a cash incentive is offered to individuals who give correct answers to all four posters.

One winner from each participating state will be chosen randomly to receive a $1,000 contribution to a new or existing Individual Retirement Account for 2017.  In addition, the program has a national online version in which winners will be randomly selected each month from among all participants who answered all questions correctly. Each national winner (7 winners total) of the national online DASH will receive a $150 IRA contribution for 2017.

What Does My Library Need To Do?
The basic requirements for all DASH host locations are:

  • Display the set of DASH posters (4 educational posters and one rules poster) between April 1–October 31, 2017 for a minimum of one week and a maximum of two months.  You can also choose to run your program more than once as long as the total program length doesn’t exceed two months and all events occur between April 1–October 31, 2017.
  • Host a DASH event as part of your DASH program.  Events can vary in scale, depending on what works best for you. You can host a DASH event as part of other educational events or you can have your own event dedicated to the DASH program that could be as simple as directing people to the posters and showing them how to enter the contest.  For more information on events, see the “Guide for Host Locations” (PDF, 5 pages).
  • Promote the DASH contest and encourage individuals to read the posters and enter the contest.  Free promotional resources are available including a flyer, video tutorial, table tent design, sample social media messages, and a sample news release.
  • Agree not to sell any financial products or services as part of your DASH program, contest and/or event.

Program Benefits
In addition to providing your customers with unbiased, authoritative investor education, other benefits include:

  • Receipt of a free set of investor education and protection booklets and DVD from the Investor Protection Institute for your library.
  • The ability to promote your library as a source of financial literacy information.
  • The participating location with the most DASH participants in Pennsylvania will receive a $100 contribution to be used for investor education purposes such as materials for your collection. 

How Do You Sign-Up?
Any public, academic, and school library is welcome to sign up for the program.  If you would like to be involved, please complete this survey about your library and how it plans to participate in the program at least 30 days before you want your DASH program to begin.

For More Information
For additional information, you can:

Or, contact:

Thanks for Considering This Opportunity
Thanks for considering this financial literacy program opportunity.  I hope that you’ll agree that the DASH for the STASH program is a simple way to educate your constituents about saving and investing for retirement.

Glenn R. Miller  |  Deputy Secretary & Commissioner for Libraries
Pennsylvania Department of Education  |  Office of Commonwealth Libraries
Room 200 Forum Building
607 South Drive  |  Harrisburg, PA  17120-0600
Phone:  717-783-2466  |  www.education.pa.gov  |  @PaDeptofEd
www.facebook.com/PADepartmentofEducation  |  pinterest.com/PADeptOfEd

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The mission of the Department of Education is to ensure that every learner has access to a world-class education system that academically prepares children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. Further, the Department seeks to establish a culture that is committed to improving opportunities throughout the commonwealth by ensuring that technical support, resources, and optimal learning environments are available for all students, whether children or adults.