The Foundation for the Mid South believes that building wealth requires increased access to effective financial programs and information. In response to research indicating that teachers are one of the most targeted groups for alternative financial services, such as check cashers, car title loan or payday loan advance businesses. The Foundation has engaged with licensed financial planning professionals to offer free financial training. The Foundation offers free financial training for teachers throughout the mid south. Due to demand for the information from others in the education field, the targeted recipients were expanded from teachers to also include assistant teachers, administrators and other support personnel. The curriculum used covers the basic components of financial management, such as goal setting, budgeting, debt reduction and investing. The training provides participants with information that helps them make better financial decisions, increases their net worth, and reduces the stress associated with high levels of debt. The overall goals of the training for participants are to: (1) increase their financial planning ability, (2) reduce their use of alternative financial services and (3) increase their awareness of financial planners and their services.

The Foundation has developed a financial tool kit to complement the curriculum.  It contains information on building and protecting your wealth; topics include  understanding budget planning, credit, identity thief, debt-to-income ratios, and alternative financial services.  Download Tool Kit.