“When you are starting up a company, risk is the key thing you have to think about,” Kentucky Financial Empowerment Commission Program Director Richard Bryant said to a packed room at the Florence branch of Boone County Library on Monday. “Am I willing to lose money? Can I go without a paycheck for so many months? Is this something that, if it doesn’t work out, it will become a huge financial burden for me?”
Bryant was teaching the commission’s Entrepreneurship 101 class, one of several publicly accessible, free-to-use educational services the commission offers to Kentucky residents.
The commission was established following the passage of House Bill 139 in 2019, which mandated requirements for financial literacy education in Kentucky high schools. Kentucky’s treasurer sits on the commission’s board, but the organization itself is an autonomous nonprofit that aims to help underserved communities in the commonwealth achieve financial independence and generally become more educated about the financial system.
Throughout the 90-minute long session, Bryant, who has a background in aquaculture (the practice of raising and breeding aquatic plants and animals), described the basics of entrepreneurship as well as reasons why (or why not) one should go after starting their own business.
Patty Purnell, who formerly ran the Rabbit Hash General Store and now has an online art business, said she hoped the session would teach “about everything there is about small business. You know, how to get the funding, how to just do things better, just to be better at what you’re doing already.”
Etta Grace, the pen name of a local middle-school fantasy author, wanted to know about legal structures and funding mechanisms for her writing business. She has a novel that’s going through rounds of editing now and has already begun connecting with potential readers online through her website and social media channels.
She said that other independent authors have successfully used crowdfunding campaign websites, like Kickstarter, to offset the cost of book production and publication.
“I’m hoping that if I could run a Kickstarter, that would help me recoup some of the editing and production costs that go into the story, as well as offer special things for my readers,” Grace said.
Besides classes for the general public like this, a large chunk of the commission’s work focuses on offering workable curricula and resources to schoolteachers tasked with educating students about financial literacy.
The commission has an online network where financial literacy teachers can find resources for their classrooms, as well as a newsletter for teachers. Additionally, they provide materials to schools that teachers can use to explore the topic with their students.
One such suite of materials, which the commission recently provided to Stephens, Yealey and Florence Elementary Schools in Boone County, was first piloted by Sheila Bair, the former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Bair now travels the country teaching kids and youth about financial literacy and penned a series of books for kids about basic financial topics, which teachers can use as vehicles for financial literacy.
The commission also provides financial boot camps for youth and underserved populations, such as the elderly and inmates. When LINK nky spoke with the commission last week, they had just finished a program at the Simpson County Detention Center.
“There’s a large majority of us that have not [had financial literacy education],” said the commission’s Executive Director, Jennifer Inman. “So we’re really just trying to allow people to be empowered with information that will set them apart and give them the opportunity to do better.”
Finally, the empowerment commission also helps spread the word about the Kentucky Bank On program. The commission doesn’t actually administer the program. Instead, it’s a subsidiary of the national Bank On program and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, both of which help people who would usually not be eligible for a conventional bank account open an account with a bank or credit union, rather than rely on predatory businesses like high-interest check cashing agencies.
“A lot of banks probably already have a second chance account also created, but with this stamp, it allows them to partner with us, for us to do the work of educating them [the patrons],” said Ajla Faust, the commission’s director of community engagement.
Multiple big-name banks and credit unions participate in the program. By providing classes within partner institutions, the commission can help people get a basic bank account with few barriers to entry like, say, a criminal history or lack of credit, shortly after taking a class if they so choose.
Access to financial services is one of the key tools by which people in the United States build wealth, whether that’s funding to start a business or financing for appreciating assets like homes. As a result, people who don’t have access to those services will inevitably face more challenges in building inter-generational prosperity and entering the middle class.
“We look for pockets of need, pockets where there are banking deserts, where people really don’t have the same access that you and I have here in Northern Kentucky,” Inman said. “But not only that, we also look for areas of poverty in general, where people may just need help with financial literacy, education and a way to be banked if they’re unbanked or under banked.”
Learn more about the commission at its website.
Financial institutions and community organizations interested in learning about and possibly partnering in the Kentucky Bank On Network can register for the commission’s upcoming webinar on Aug. 27 by filling out this online contact form.
