The $965 million Allegacy Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, N.C., has opened the Center for Smart Financial Choices, a non-profit organization offering personal finance education courses to the local community, the credit union announced.
CSFC courses will cover money management, credit, debt and financial planning; course formats will incorporate technology, individual and group instruction, visual aids such as YouTube videos and hands-on activities such as creating a budget or financial plan, Allegacy FCU said.
“The ultimate goal of the center is to assist people with making smart financial choices by encouraging financial responsibility and helping establish healthy personal finance habits throughout their lives,” said Ike Keener, president/CEO for Allegacy FCU. “Courses are geared to coincide with the stages in a person's life, from a 5-year-old just learning about money to a youth applying to college to a 75-year-old looking to distribute assets.”
CSFC also recently partnered with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Transition Office, which provides vocational training and life skills coaching to developmentally disabled students, to develop a pilot personal finance course for 23 students, the credit union said.
The first class, held on May 16, covered the basics of maintaining checking and savings accounts.
Courses will be open to the public in fall 2012 at Allegacy FCU's headquarters at 1691 Westbrook Plaza Drive in Winston-Salem. Course participants must pay an annual membership fee, which has been set at $15 for students, $20 for individuals and $30 for families.
Below, Ike Keener, Allegacy president/CEO, with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools representatives Margaret Wade, left, and Tiffany McMasters.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
