Charity Awards 2024

MyBnk

Empowering young people with money management skills

Every year millions of young people leave school without the skills to manage their finances, and those aged 16 to 24 are the most likely age group to get into debt. This means that those without family support are at risk of rent arrears, eviction and homelessness if they make costly decisions they cannot afford.

MyBnkMyBnk began the Money Works programme in 2009, led by a head of education who had lived experience of the issue.

The programme works in partnership with youth organisations that act as hosts, connecting MyBnk with those who will benefit from financial education.

After the pilot, Money Works was extended to eight hours, allowing more time for interactive elements and for accreditation to be included.

Over the years the programme has been refined and adapted, for example, to include topics such as fintech apps and managing money from mobile phones.

During the pandemic, a virtual version of the programme was developed. This is nine hours long to allow enough time for accreditation and for trainers to have one-on-one time with each participant.

MyBnk is confident that this version of the programme had the same impact as in-person delivery. Indeed, some young people said they felt more comfortable being able to use the chat function in Zoom to interact with the tutors.

An external evaluation of Money Works found that there was a 51% drop in those who considered their debt or rent arrears a burden, and a 19% increase in those who were keeping up with their bills.

For every £1 spent on the programme, £5.57 in social value is created.

Charity Awards judge Yvonne Field said MyBnk had grown to become the main organisation providing financial literacy to children and young people across the country and was now engaging with professionals such as youth workers and other non-formal educators outside of tutors and schools.

Judge Martin Edwards said that MyBnk produced some good results around the numbers of young people who reported being more confident in managing their finances, more likely to use price comparison websites and who said they were less likely to get into debt.

“And they’ve been independently evaluated as having a 5:1 one social return… I thought it was solid,” he said.

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