Invest In America Donates $700K To Biz Kid$

LIVONIA, Mich. – CU Village, through its Invest in America (IIA) program, said it will provide $700,000 toward the national underwriting of Biz Kid$, the Emmy Award winning and CU-funded TV series that airs on PBS stations across the U.S. and which seeks to teach kids about money management and entrepreneurship.

The donation is believed to be one of the largest ever to the Biz Kid$ program, which is managed by the National Credit Union Foundation. In addition to the $700,000 contribution, Invest in America is asking each of its credit union and league partners that receive Sprint marketing incentives to join with it to raise the remaining $1 million needed to complete the 2010 season. “This can be achieved by donating 10% of their year-end rebate to support the program,” Invest in America said.

Since launching in January of 2008, Biz Kid$ has reached 1.2-million students and teachers via the companion classroom curriculum.

Invest in America offers members discounts on products and services from a number of U.S.-based companies. It is managed by CUCorp and CU Village, both subsidiaries of the Michigan league.

“Since its inception America’s credit unions have exclusively funded Biz Kid$ as our industry’s gift to financial education,” said Dave Adams, CEO of the Michigan league. “To date, $8,550,000 has been contributed to fund BizKid$. To continue to thrive as a system program well into the future, Biz Kid$ warrants the collaborative financial support of the credit union community. We anticipate that the nation’s not-for-profit financial institutions will see this as an opportunity to continue supporting the program without having it affect tightening budgets.”

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