Governor Scott Walker announced recipients of the 2017 Governor’s Financial Literacy Award, as selected by the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy. Eighteen individuals, businesses, and organizations were chosen as recipients for the award. The UW-Extension Family Living Program’s Check Your Free Credit Report Campaign was announced as one of the recipients of the award. Since 2013, the Family Living Program has conducted a “Check Your Free Credit Report Campaign,” which seeks to increase Wisconsin residents’ access to, and understanding of, their credit histories. Residents can sign up for e-mail reminders every four months (2/2, 6/6, and 10/10) to check their credit scores with one of the three major credit reporting bureaus. Since 2013, 940 Wisconsin residents have signed up for the reminder e-mails – 181 of them in 2017 alone.
“These individuals and organizations are to be commended for their dedication to helping citizens of all ages enhance their personal financial knowledge and skills,” Governor Walker said. “Financial literacy is about equipping people with the tools they need to be financially secure and achieve their goals.”
The recipients will be honored at a ceremony at the Capitol later this year. They were selected from 29 nominations submitted for consideration. Criteria considered during the screening process included innovative implementation, demonstrated measurable results, collaboration with partners, and whether the effort was focused on needs-based groups.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Financial Security 