Matthew Sapaula, Inc. and our media company, Money Smart Radio (not an affiliate or subsidiary of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) are Money Smart Week partners with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in promoting financial literacy and financial education throughout the Chicagoland area.
What is Money Smart Week?
Money Smart Week Partners L-R Coleman Conley of Ameriprise, Yours Truly, Alejo Torres of the Federal Bank of Chicago and Rey Vega of ReyVega, Inc.
Money Smart Week® is a public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. This is achieved through the collaboration and coordinated effort of hundreds of organizations across the state and Midwest including businesses, financial institutions, schools, libraries, not-for-profits, government agencies and the media. These groups come together once a year to stress the importance of financial literacy, inform consumers where they can get help, and provide free educational seminars and activities throughout the week. Programming is offered to all demographics and income levels and covers all facets of personal finance from establishing a budget to first time home-buying to estate planning.
How Did It All Get Started?
Money Smart Week began as a coordinated effort of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Money Smart Advisory Council – a diverse group of more than 40 Chicago-area organizations working together to promote personal financial literacy. Members agreed to share resources and ideas to achieve greater public awareness of the programs and services available in the city of Chicago. The result was Money Smart Week 2002, a week of 40 financial seminars and educational activities. The effort would showcase different programs, help consumers get information, bring together different organizations – many for the first time – and help these organizations share expertise and leverage limited resources.
The Money Smart Week model has since spread throughout the Chicago Fed’s district with successful campaigns throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Additionally, the model has been replicated around the country in the states of Colorado, Kansas City, Nebraska, New Jersey, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.
*Money Smart Week is a registered service mark of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Here’s a quick video from a past event during Money Smart Week Chicago, sponsored by Wachovia
Here are some related posts in our blog about Money Smart Week as we’re always looking for volunteers and sponsors to attend, assist and promote these financial literacy and financial education events throughout Chicago.
To get an up-to-date calendar of events held everyday through Chicago during Money Smart Week, CLICK HERE
Attend a FREE CLASS and be our guest! Email us at [email protected] to be put on our guest list or call our office 708.686.2000 x1
About the Federal Reserve System
The Chicago Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks across the United States that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., serve as the central bank for the United States.
Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1913, charging it with the responsibility to foster a sound banking system and a healthy economy. This remains the broad mission of the Fed and its component parts: the 12 Federal Reserve Banks nationwide that each serve a specific region of the country, and the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., which is set up to oversee the Fed System.
To accomplish its mission, the Fed:
- serves as a banker’s bank and as the government’s bank
- serves as a regulator of financial institutions
- serves as the nation’s money manager, performing a vast array of functions that affect the economy, the financial system, and ultimately, each of us
About the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Chicago Fed serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, an economically diverse region that includes all of Iowa and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Seventh District has a large national share of many important economic sectors. The Chicago Fed has a head office in Chicago, branch office in Detroit, a regional office in Des Moines and a facility on the southwest side of Chicago.
