This is a guest blog post from the co-founder of FuturFund, Sara Raza. FurturFund organizes events where high-school students come together to learn about personal finance in a social and fun environment.
The Birth of an Idea
In grade 12, like many of the high school seniors now, I was applying to universities and exploring the opportunities out there. I was excited for my future. But with this excitement came a new found confusion, I had no clue how I was going to afford university. I found myself thinking, “I know I have OSAP… but how much will they give me? …and I think I have RESP… but what is it exactly?” I had no idea how to answer these questions for myself.
In grade 12, I also started my first job: teaching assistant at Kumon. I noticed that I quickly spent my income, and I wasn’t spending with my future in mind. Sure, I made some good investments like pitching in for my new laptop. But I wasn’t exactly sure where the rest of my income was going. Food? Clothing? Movies? So when my friend, Katherine, called me and expressed the same concerns, we realized many of our peers were facing the same decisions and were confused about them too.There was a gap in our high school curriculum, and we wanted to fix it. Our frustrations turned into an idea, and that idea sprouted into action. We founded FuturFund, a non-profit, student-run organization that aims to equip high school students with financial literacy skills.
We thought that the best way to provide the students with the necessary tools to make sound financial decisions is to connect them with the great resources out there already. Industry professionals have the expertise to both convince and equip students with the right mindset for financial literacy. Through the means of a conference, we can provide an interactive and fun learning atmosphere, the best way to create a bigger impact.
In 2015, we hosted our first annual conference in Mississauga for 100 students and it was a wild success. There was an inspiring lineup of speakers in the morning paired with a competition in the afternoon, allowing students to apply the skills they’ve learned and earn great prizes.
2016 Conference
Now, we are in full-swing planning our 2nd annual conference set to be on May 14, 2016 at Branksome Hall. It’s open to all students in the Greater Toronto Area. Our theme for this year’s conference is “Prepping for University”.
Our keynote presentation is dedicated to giving our delegates a new perspective on financial literacy: it is a valuable skill they need to learn in every step of their lives, no matter their career choice or lifestyle.
Following the key-note, industry professionals will teach delegates the basics of investing, saving, and budgeting. These presentations and workshops will provide the delegates the ground work and necessary exposure for their financial literacy knowledge that they will be able to later build on.
In the afternoon, they will be given a chance to apply the skills they have learned during the day in an engaging, time sensitive, decision-making challenge. This challenge, tailored to their likely experiences in the first semester of university, will prove to our delegates that not every decision is easy, but every decision is consequential.
In our final weeks of preparing, Katherine and I are completing the final touches. We can’t wait to finally share those details with everyone in the weeks to come. FuturFund wouldn’t have grown from an idea to where we are today without the support of our generous sponsors. We would like to extend our appreciation to our 2016 mentors and sponsors – Sun Life Global Investments, The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, Chartered Professional Accountants, The Centre for Education and Training, and Branksome Hall.
Like us on Facebook at FuturFund and follow us on Twitter @FuturFund to stay updated for our exciting lineup of speakers this year!
Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.