Making K-Staters money-smart from the start
Most bad decisions made in college stay in college … well, before the arrival of social media, that is. But financial missteps are common among students of every era, and they can lead to a disaster that dogs them for decades.
That’s why the KSU Foundation dedicated its 2023 All In for K-State giving day to expanding students’ financial literacy. When the phones stopped ringing that evening, the Financial Futures project had raised an all-time record of more than $1 million to help K-State’s Powercat Financial scale up its award-winning services.
Budget vs broke
For Kate Mielitz, Powercat Financial executive director, the goal is to reach a much larger audience: all incoming students.
“We want to ensure every incoming freshman has an education financial plan,” she said.
Located in the K-State Student Union, Powercat Financial steps in to teach today’s students an important lesson in adulting — a subject most academic programs don’t include. Knowing it’s never too early to learn money management skills but it can quickly and easily become too late, Mielitz and her team help students learn to budget, manage credit and even negotiate salaries.
The secret to the organization’s success lies in the innovative delivery method. Free individual counseling sessions, classroom presentations and workshops in student living communities are hosted by trained students who are studying for careers in financial services.
“One of the things that makes this such a phenomenal program is that our students are focused on their peers,” Mielitz said. “You’re learning from someone like you, who knows firsthand what it’s like to be a college student in today’s world.”
Maxing out the message
With a boost from the All In giving day and a lead gift from Jim and Marsha Reed, Powercat Financial more than doubled its peer counselors and recruited an energetic army of financial wellbeing ambassadors to spread the word.
Mielitz knows money-related stress is part of student life for many. Her advice? Reassurance comes from preparation, so take charge early on. “We can take away the uncertainty surrounding the future by creating a plan,” she said. “And that knowledge goes a long way to show people it’s going to be okay.”
See peer-to-peer counseling in action
Money matters
K-State went all out for All In. Here are the receipts:
$1,051,194 raised in 24 hours (a record)
1,290 peer-to-peer individual counseling sessions, on track to host approximately 2,100 this year
8,000+ students reached through workshops, classroom presentations and partnerships with K-State academic departments
77 financial well-being ambassadors
26 peer counselors
