Financial Literacy Program Management Plan Analysis

1. Develop a 1,050- to 1,400-word needs statement and management plan that will be part of a proposal for a fictitious, grant-funded project of your choosing on behalf of your agency or organization. Include the following sections in your submission:

Proposal: Mandatory financial literacy course for college students to graduate from a college or university

2. Paragraph One: Describe the characteristics of your fictitious agency or organization.

The fictitious organization is the Department of financial services and stability within the state of Florida. Here the agency is charged with maintaining the stability and financial position of the state of Florida. To accomplish this mandate the agency has several service divisions that designed to help promote the integrity of the financial system within the state of Florida. These services are further segmented into divisions designed to address certain elements within the financial system. These segments have slight overlap but consisted of departments related to accounting, auditing, consumer services, forensic accounting and fraud, risk management, and treasury. Here, the organization looks to help promote the seamless financial activity within the state, promote liquidity and ultimately help to maintain the stats strong financial position relative to other states.

3. Paragraph Two: Discuss the possible funding sources you might contact for this grant proposal.

The funding sources for the organization will be heavily reliant on tax revenue from the government. Florida has a relatively low tax basis as compared to other states. Here, funding for the new agency can be funding through a sales tax increase. Additionally, a portion of lottery winning can be used to supplement expenditures related to this department.

4. Needs Statement: Establish the specific problem the proposed project will address.

Financial literacy is now becoming a much more contentious and polarizing issue throughout the United States. Studies have shown a widening disparity in income inequality throughout the country. The trend shows no signs of abating as the recent COVID-19 pandemic saw the wealthiest one percent of Americans obtain a large percentage of the wealth gains that occurred from the recovery. One element that is particularly harming Americans is that of student loan debt. Currently, student loan debt currently stands at $1.6 Trillion with nearly 43 million Americans with some form of student loan debt. This debt, according to experts has the potential to inhibit overall economic growth, as larger portions of consumer salaries are dedicated to debt service payments.

Even more alarming is the deteriorating financial position of minorities within the country. African Americans and Hispanic typically score low on many socio-economic metrics. For example, African Americans often have lower incomes, lower wealth, and higher unemployment rates relative to their white counterparts. Likewise, they often have worse credit reporting scores and higher debt levels. Each of these elements ultimately can severely hinder the overall financial prosperity of these cultural groups.

With a mandatory financial literacy course, society can betters position itself to be much more prudent in the manner in which it engages in financial transactions. This can ultimately help improve overall economic prosperity, lower dependance on government programs, and ultimately allow minorities live much more productive lives. Initially, the proposal is only designed to be implement for college and university students. The primary reason is due the large overall amount of student loan debt outstanding and the need to mitigate the incurrence of debt with little to no benefit for the student. Eventually, this proposal will look to expand operations to high school students, if the initial program is successful.

The foundation of the program is to mandate, as a condition for graduation, that all college and university students successfully pass a certified financial literacy course. Here, colleges must first provide a “certified” financial literacy course within its curriculum. The certification process will be used as means to vet both third party product offerings along with other higher education course offerings. The certification process will be used to ensure the relevant, accurate, and truthful information has been provided to students. It will also ensure a minimum level of quality is maintained throughout the course instruction process. Once certified, students will be required to pass the course with a “C” or better as a requirement for graduation.

The rationale behind this proposal is to provide students with foundational knowledge that can be adapted to improve the overall financial acumen of the student. The aim is for students to leverage this foundational knowledge to ultimately improve their overall financial decision-making process. Finance is one of the few disciplines that have a direct impact on all human beings both directly and indirectly. Finance has implications on individuals ability to gain access to low cost credit, the ability to purchase a car or home, or the ability to determine the overall cost of student loan debt. By providing access to critical information prior to these individuals joining the workforce, society can become much more educated as it relates to prudent financial decisions.

5. Management Plan: Describe the responsibilities of the project director (you) and any staff you will employ to implement the grant.

To begin, the project manager must first determine what metrics will be used to “Certify” a financial literacy course. As the discipline is very broad, the project director along with industry experts must determine what are the essential personal finance areas that should be discussed within the course. Likewise, the project manager must determine how the overall certification process will be conducted and what criteria will be used to evaluate it. This process will ultimately will need to include the universities and colleges themselves who will be implementing this mandate on their campuses.