AUSTRALIA, 12 November 2019: First Nations Foundation (FNF) today launches the world’s first digital financial literacy education program to help First Nations people develop their financial knowledge.
While the content of My Money Dream has been developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people, FNF has added the might and scale of Australia’s largest industries by offering this to the financial services industry, government and employers to engage with their Indigenous customers and staff. The training is a validated training program, adapted from 10 years of face-to-face delivery by the foundation and transforms the lives of individuals, their family, friends and communities.
“We released research in 2019 showing the alarming statistic that 9 in 10 Indigenous people have no financial security. This cannot be transcended without financial literacy, and we are enlisting the help of government and industry to help reach and build a financially-savvy Indigenous population.” First Nations Foundation CEO, Amanda Young, said.
“This is the first step in our Indigenous financial wellbeing strategy. My Money Dream is a brilliant and low-cost way to bring financial knowledge into the lives of Indigenous people at scale. Potentially we can teach tens of thousands of people, because everyone has a digital device.
“We are asking financial services who want to connect with their Indigenous members to buy My Money Dream and offer it, as a powerful way to build skills and trust. We ask governments to help prepare our Indigenous workers of the future with money skills, for people on cashless welfare cards to skill up and exit that system and for employers to attract and retain their Indigenous staff with this professional development tool. We have done the hard work: expert content. All they need to do is buy licenses and start offering to their desired audience.”
Developed with the support of Indigenous Business Australia and Australian Unity, the program helps First Nations people aged 16 – 60 navigate the financial obstacles unique to Indigenous people, including lessons on money and culture, budgeting, banking, superannuation, insurance, loans and credit, buying a home, buying a car and financial first aid. Using a clever blend of culture, humour and deep knowledge, it is an engaging learning platform.
“Financial knowledge is a powerful tool for prosperity across communities,” Australian Unity Head of Partnerships Benson Saulo said. “Our ongoing commitment across the Indigenous community is enabling economic empowerment – financial literacy and wellbeing is a critical element of that.”
The platform gives philanthropists who want to create social change in Indigenous communities the power to do so, by allowing them to fund the purchase of user licenses to be distributed on their behalf.
The first philanthropic organisation to purchase licences is the Rowe Family Foundation, managed by Perpetual as trustee. Perpetual’s General Manager of Community & Social Investment, Caitriona Fay,
