Florida Literacy Coalition Announces Financial Literacy Grants Made Available Through the Support of Wells Fargo

Online, May 13, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC) is proud to announce it is partnering with Wells Fargo to establish a statewide financial literacy program for students in adult education/literacy, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and family literacy programs.

Financial education promotes stability for individuals and their families. The more people know about credit, banking services, taxes and basic money management, the more likely they are to increase savings, buy homes, save for education and improve their financial well-being. Not surprisingly, people with a low level of education often also have low numeracy and financial literacy skills. Basic financial skills education can be critical to helping such individuals manage their money and protect themselves from predatory practices.

The Florida Financial Literacy initiative was recently launched at the Florida Literacy Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. Connie Smith, Florida Community Affairs Manager for Wells Fargo, presented FLC with a check for $50,000 to support this effort.

"At Wells Fargo, we believe that improving financial literacy is the gateway to economic self-sufficiency. So we are very proud to work with FLC to launch this important initiative," Smith said.

The cornerstone of the initiative is a mini-grants program that will award seven literacy providers up to $5,000 over a one-year period. The program also supports a special conference track on financial literacy and other training opportunities for teachers, tutors and administrators on how to incorporate financial information into their curriculum. The streamlined integration of literacy instruction and financial education promotes contextualized learning; an approach that helps people develop basic skills while acquiring information to make informed choices regarding their finances.

"The Florida Literacy Coalition is so pleased to be partnering with Wells Fargo and very appreciate of their support." said Greg Smith, Executive Director of FLC. "Wells Fargo is truly committed to supporting financial education and strengthening local communities. It is our privilege to be working with them on this statewide effort."

Grant applicants and others interested in learning more about financial literacy instruction are encouraged to explore Hands On Banking, a free curriculum developed by Wells Fargo that includes instructor guides with lessons and classroom activities. Available in both English and Spanish, it can be accessed at www.handsonbanking.org.

The application and guidelines are available on the Florida Literacy Coalition's website at www.floridaliteracy.org. Proposals must be received by June 18, 2014. For questions, please contact Katie Philp at (407) 246-7110 ext. 209 or via e-mail at [email protected]

About the Florida Literacy Coalition
Established in 1985, The Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC) promotes, supports and advocates for the effective delivery of quality adult and family literacy services in the state of Florida. As a statewide umbrella literacy organization and the host of Florida's Adult and Family Literacy Resource Center, FLC provides a range of services to support more than 300 adult education, literacy family literacy providers. Special emphasis is placed on assisting community based literacy organizations with their training and program development needs. More information about FLC can be found at www.floridaliteracy.org or by calling (407) 246-7110.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.5 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2013 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially.