Increased conversation and engagement mark fifth annual Financial Literacy Month in Canada

The buzz around #FLM2015 and #CountMeInCA showed that organizations across the country stepped up to the plate to deliver hundreds of resources, events and workshops to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians

OTTAWA, Dec. 4, 2015 /CNW/ - This year marked the 5^th anniversary of November as Financial Literacy Month in Canada. #FLM2015 encouraged individuals to increase their financial skills and organizations from the public, private and non-profit sectors to offer resources, host workshops and organize events to help strengthen Canadians' financial know-how.  

Spearheaded by Canada's Financial Literacy Leader, Jane Rooney, from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), #FLM2015 focused on three areas: managing money and debt wisely, planning and saving for the future, and preventing and protecting against fraud and financial abuse.

Throughout the month, the Leader spoke to several thousand people attending 20 events across the country on topics ranging from how to reach youth to the benefits of workplace financial literacy to the importance of measuring and evaluating financial literacy initiatives. In total, 36 organizations contributed 1,480 events to the Canadian Financial Literacy Database.

Quick Facts

Highlights from #FLM2015 include:

• The Financial Literacy Leader kicked-off the month at the biannual Financial Empowerment Conference hosted by Prosper Canada and the Asset Building Learning Exchange, where experts from all sectors convened to discuss how to combat poverty and decrease financial vulnerability.
• As a kick-off to Credit Education Week, Credit Canada Debt Solutions and Capital One Canada launched a Twitter contest to gather Canadians' "cheap or frugal" spending stories with the aim of helping Canadians spend smartly through financial education.
• The Saskatoon Industry Education Council, Affinity Credit Union, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and Square One\SREDA launched the Saskatchewan Financial Literacy Network, which includes individuals, businesses and organizations looking to strengthen financial know-how in that province.
• Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and Great West Life promoted the value of workplace financial literacy by offering a workplace financial literacy session.
• In collaboration with FCAC, United Way Ottawa announced the new Small Change app, to help nudge users to change their financial behaviours and save money.
• FCAC introduced enhancements to the Canadian Financial Literacy Database to make it more useful to community groups and non-profit organizations seeking funding programs.
• Daily Facebook posts inviting Canadians to take concrete steps to improve their financial skills or situations were shared approximately 500 times and reached some 55,000 users, an increase of 51% from last year's results.
• FLM was mentioned approximately 6,200 times during November on Twitter, online media, blogs and forums. This represents an increase of 33% from 2014. In addition, FCAC's Twitter accounts earned 270,400 impressions (an increase of 9% from 2014), 800 retweets, 300 likes and 1,500 clicks.

Quote

"This year marked the fifth anniversary of Financial Literacy Month in Canada. What this really means is that we can celebrate 60 months of hard work and some significant accomplishments. I am convinced today, more than ever, that the whole of our efforts is much greater than the sum of our parts. Let's keep up the good work. Let's maintain this energy. Let's all count ourselves in the financial literacy effort all year long."

Jane Rooney
Financial Literacy Leader,
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Related Products

• #FLM2015: Financial Literacy Leader kicks off 5th anniversary of Financial Literacy Month
• Week 2 of #FLM2015 to focus on importance of managing money and debt wisely
• Week 3 of #FLM2015 to focus on importance of planning and saving for the future
• Week 4 of #FLM2015 to focus on preventing and protecting against fraud and financial abuse

Associated Links

• Financial Literacy Month
• #FLM2015: Where We Were
• Canadian Financial Literacy Database
• Financial literacy self-assessment quiz
• Financial Literacy Leader

Visit ItPaysToKnow.gc.ca/FLM
Like www.facebook.com/FCACan
Follow @FCACan on Twitter
Join the conversation with #FLM2015 and #CountMeInCA

SOURCE Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Image with caption: "Organizations across the country stepped up to the plate to deliver hundreds of resources, events and workshops to strengthen Canadians’ financial literacy (CNW Group/Financial Consumer Agency of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151204_C4827_PHOTO_EN_558584.jpg

Video with caption: "We all work hard for our money and that’s why we should try to get the most out of it. But often, we don’t know where to start. Your Financial Toolkit can help!". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXH3oRx5Zs

Media Relations, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 613-941-4168, [email protected]