Commonwealth Bank youth and education initiatives

In 2003, the Commonwealth Bank established the Commonwealth Bank Foundation, building on the Bank's community activities and contributions towards education and financial literacy over the previous 70 years.

The Commonwealth Bank Foundation encourages developments in education, in particular the financial literacy skills of young Australians and Indigenous Australians. It aims to create awareness, skill and understanding of the benefits of a more financially literate community.

Current Commonwealth Bank Foundation programs

Commonwealth Bank Foundation Financial Literacy Grants
The grants are designed to help secondary schools implement education programs that develop student financial literacy awareness, understanding and skills. Working with Business Educators Australasia the Foundation has made 100 grants of $3,500 annually, investing a total of $1.75 million since 2004. Further details regarding the Grants is available at www.commbank.com.au/financialliteracygrants

StartSmart
The StartSmart Program offers secondary school students nationally the opportunity to participate in capital city forums, regional workshops and in-school workshops featuring interactive and engaging sessions directed towards development of financial literacy. The StartSmart program also offers Professional Development days for teachers in each capital city, giving them the skills and confidence they need to teach financial literacy. For further information as well as annual StartSmart Program dates visit www.startsmart.com.au

National Financial Literacy Curriculum Resource
This free resource helps teachers to improve their students' knowledge, skills and understanding of financial literacy. It has been developed with the assistance of the NSW Department of Education and Training (NSW DET) and a Steering and Advisory Committee of education representatives from across Australia.

There are 12 modules which have been mapped to the Year 7-10 curriculum in each state and territory. Material is available in Adobe PDF format and you can save the resources on your computer or print each module as required. General notes will help teachers use the resources. Click here to download the resource modules.

Australian Financial Literacy Assessment (AFLA)
Educational Assessment Australia were commissioned by the Commonwealth Bank Foundation in 2005 to develop a Financial Literacy Assessment for students in Year 9 and 10. The assessment is designed to help schools measure students' learning, competency and understanding of financial literacy and identify improvements in these areas over time.

In 2008, AFLA is being delivered online as a Pre-learning and Post-learning Assessment. Register now.

For more information and other initiatives offered by the Commonwealth Bank Foundation visit http://www.commbank.com.au/foundation