You Got This! More than 2,600 people tuned into this message through a series of workshops on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce education. Presented by NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library and sponsored by NSU Fellows Society member, the Truist (SunTrust) Foundation, the sessions were free to the public and covered topics ranging from managing your money in a crisis to taxes, insurance, and marketing your own business.
The goal? To provide educational programming and resources to help NSU and the community at large become more financially literate and to develop a growing community of entrepreneurs.
“We want the community to be well informed on the aspects of financial wellness,” said Tony Coley, South Florida regional president for Truist. “Providing resources and working with organizations like NSU to empower community residents to take control of their financial wellness and future is in line with Truist’s purpose, which is ‘to inspire and build better lives and communities.’”
The workshops were originally designed to be in-person, and faculty members from the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, as well as other industry experts, were tapped to present on the chosen topics. But before the series could even take off, COVID-19 restrictions came into play, presenting a unique challenge and, as it turned out, an incredible opportunity to host more workshops and reach an even larger audience with an online format.
“Our intention was to have 2 programs per month for nine months, for a total of 18 programs,” said Susan Berkman, grant administrator. “We wound up with a total of 28 programs—14 in financial literacy and 14 in entrepreneurship. All sessions were arranged, and then along came COVID-19.
“At that point, we had to pivot on how we were presenting and how to market. Some topics needed to change as well,” she added. “For instance, originally, we scheduled a professor to talk about gaining financial independence. It didn’t seem appropriate when COVID-19 hit and people in the community were losing jobs and struggling to survive. So, that same professor presented on managing your money during a crisis, and it was one of our most interactive sessions.”
Additional popular topics in financial literacy included estate-planning tips, saving with grocery apps, and how to save money now. The most well-attended workshops under the entrepreneurship umbrella were funding your business, SEO in business, and starting a small business in the profit or nonprofit sector.
Said one participant in the evaluations, “Love the online events and hope even after the library opens, all events will have an online component. Love being able to view on demand if I have to join a webinar late or leave early. Thank you.”
“I learned enough today to build tomorrow.” said another. “Thank you for taking the time to share your wealth of information with the public. It is greatly appreciated.”
“There is a need in the community to provide practical and useful information they can use in their everyday lives and businesses,” said Berkman. “We are so thankful to the SunTrust/Truist Foundation for giving Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library this grant to provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to a community that appreciates the outcomes of this partnership.”
“The program’s diversity of offering and providing our community at large a path to personal and business financial wellness and success is a great model now and into the future,” added Coley. “NSU is a great community partner.”
To learn more about the topics presented as part of the You Got This workshop series, visit here. Register for upcoming workshops, or view recordings of previously held sessions.
For additional information, or ways to support please contact:
Diane Klein, M.S.
Director of Development
University Advancement
kdiane@nova.edu | (954) 262-2171