NICC Calmar Campus receives Arlin Falck Foundation grant to help support a Financial Fitness Initiative

The Arlin Falck Foundation has awarded a $27,440 grant to the NICC Foundation to support a Financial Fitness initiative at the Calmar campus.

The two-year project is being run by the NICC Financial Aid Office.  It is designed to increase students' financial skills and strengthen their financial futures.

The Arlin Falck Foundation's grant will support four major objectives of the two-year Financial Fitness project:
 
•    Events and learning opportunities for students, such as workshops and financial aid-related presentations during new student orientation
 
•    Money Smart Week activities, a collaborative effort by NICC, area banks, libraries, service organizations and youth programs, that brings financial education and personal development to students and northeast Iowans
 
•    Loan default prevention measures and outreach education to students to teach effective loan repayment strategies and reduce loan default
 
•    Strategic communication efforts and information about financial aid fitness to a diverse student body that includes full- and part-time students, online, traditional and non-traditional students
 
The project was prompted by a spring 2014 survey of NICC students indicating that the financial topics of most interest to them included budgeting, saving, investing, loan and debt management and credit. The survey also revealed that 75 percent of students are only somewhat sure or unsure about managing their finances.