- About the CashCourse Reimbursement ProgramTwice each academic year, CashCourse and the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) provide funds for incentives to qualifying projects that promote awareness and use of CashCourse among students enrolled in a particular institution.To qualify for the Reimbursement Program, a college or university must1) Meet all eligibility requirements, as an institution and in the design of their project2) Submit a completed application to NEFE by the program deadline3) Be selected by CashCourse and NEFE as a program participantFor approved schools, funds are awarded after the completion of the cycle, when all required forms and documentation are submitted for reimbursement. Only expenses for activities completed within the cycle may be reimbursed. Only ONE application per school will be funded. We encourage you to collaborate with colleagues across campus on your Reimbursement Program project.Instructions for the Reimbursement Program Application1. Design a CashCourse campaign, activity, program, or project for your school, department, or campus. Read the section on "Designing an Effective Project" for some strategies for designing an effective project.2. Determine eligible expenses. Certain purchases are not covered by these funds, and CashCourse will only reimburse up to $500. Read the "Application Guidelines" section for details.3. Complete this application form. The application must be completed in full, including the amount of money being requested, up to $500. Thorough, detailed project summaries are preferred.Direct any questions to Raven Newberry, CashCourse program manager, at cashcourse@nefe.org or 303-224-3536.IMPORTANT: Funding DeadlinesWe will not provide retroactive funding for previously held events. Expenses incurred after the cycle ends will not be reimbursed. Activities should begin and finish within the dates of the cycle. Activities and expenses cannot be rolled over to a later cycle. The program deadlines follow this schedule:
- Applications Due: December 4, 2018
- Funding Announced: December 17, 2018
- Cycle Begins: January 2, 2019
- Cycle Ends: June 28, 2019
- Receipts Due: July 19,2019
- Application GuidelinesApplicant EligibilityTo be eligible for funding, your group must be:
- A participating and active school enrolled in the CashCourse program. You must have your CashCourse website customized with your school logo and have a visible link to CashCourse from your school’s web pages.
- Officially affiliated with the college or university (i.e. a division, department, or registered student group).
Eligible ExpensesFood, refreshments, and gift card giveaways to incentivize student participation in campus financial literacy programs.Ineligible ExpensesCashCourse is noncommercial, and it’s important that the program is not perceived as partnering, sponsoring, or endorsing companies, businesses, or products. Because of this, events used to promote CashCourse cannot have corporate sponsorship.Ineligible expenses include anything outside of food, refreshments, and gift card giveaways.Application and Funding Process1. Complete and submit this CashCourse Reimbursement Application Form by December 4, 2018.2. You can expect to hear whether your application was accepted by December 17, 2018. Decisions will be based on the availability of funds and the project’s ability to meet the stated goals—namely to promote student awareness and use of CashCourse.3. If your proposal has been accepted, you will receive an email outlining your approved amount of funding along with the necessary forms for reimbursement and evaluation.4. After completion of the activity or activities, submit the reimbursement and evaluation forms to NEFE along with all related receipts. (Originals or legible copies are both acceptable.) NEFE will not reimburse schools that do not turn in their evaluation forms and relating receipts by July 19, 2019.5. Within one month of receiving the receipts, NEFE will send your school a check for the amount of actual expenses, not to exceed the approved amount set forth in your proposal.Funding Allocations and RestrictionsWe understand that plans can change. If you need to reallocate some of your funds, or you think it’s best to change your approved activities, let us know! Approval is required for major variances in your planned activities and expenses, but funds are flexible. - Designing an Effective ProjectProjects that are well-designed, smartly planned and goal-oriented have a better chance of receiving funding from CashCourse. This is a basic guide to what NEFE considers criteria for an effective project. (This is intended only as a guide to getting started; you are not limited to the ideas or information presented below.)Create and Meet Reimbursement Program GoalsWe want to increase student awareness and use of the CashCourse website and related resources. Given access to the right tools and information, students can become more financially literate and build positive money management habits.Our primary goals are as follows:
- Engage and Inform Students: Show them what CashCourse is, what it has to offer, and where to access it. We monitor website visits, unique visitors, and time spent on the website to assess effectiveness of these efforts.
- Increase Faculty Engagement: If more staff members are aware of CashCourse, then more people are telling students about CashCourse and using its resources in campus programming and coursework.
- Create Interdepartmental Participation: Broaden the reach of CashCourse. The more channels that are used throughout your campus, the more effective your efforts will be.
Your own school or departmental goals should also factor into your proposal. What are you trying to achieve? How will you measure it? How does it help students improve their financial literacy?Be SpecificThe Reimbursement Program is very competitive. All applications are reviewed and selected based on their probability of effectiveness: The more specific, measurable, and attainable your project, the better your chance of being selected.- What: Tell us the nature of the project. Is it a series of workshops? An online scavenger hunt? An essay contest?
- How: Detail how you’ll run the project, who is involved, and which student populations you’ll reach.
- When: Develop a timeline to show how these activities will fit into the reimbursement cycle. (Expenses incurred after the cycle ends will not be reimbursed.)
- How Much: Break down anticipated costs, line by line. Be specific.
- Why: Why is this a needed and useful project? What are you trying to achieve? How will you measure it?
Tips for a Successful ProgramBased on the experiences of past participants, we have determined a few helpful starting points for a successful project.- In terms of voluntary student participation, low-involvement activities are more successful. If you want students to participate in your project from their own motivation, make the activity simple and low-risk.
- Conversely, you can conduct more high-involvement activities when participation is mandatory.
- Give students personal tools and takeaways from every activity, such as their own budget, plan for paying off debt, or chart of future earnings potential based on their major.
- Marketing: Use your school’s existing marketing channels, such as social media, emails, electronic displays, bulletin boards, etc. Run stories or ads in your newsletter, campus paper, or magazine. Work with your campus’s office of marketing or communications.
- Good projects have multiple points of contact. Different activities reinforce one another so students are more engaged and retain more information.
- The project is on an attainable and realistic timeline.
- The project has specific goals that you can measure qualitatively, quantitatively, or both. Consider what metrics you have available to gauge success.
- Parts of or the entire project can be replicated or shared with other colleges.
