Gen-Y business grants offered through Twitter experiments
Southeastern University's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team is using Twitter in an experiment to engage the Gen-Y and "improve the quality of life of people through business practices".
Florida-based, the SIFE team is one of 25 across the U.S. who was awarded a grant of $1,500 to participate in the 'Financially Empowering Gen Y' program.
The project, called "30 Tweets in 30 Days" is designed to engage young adults and promote TIAA-CREF; a non-profit company offering resources and advice on spending, saving and investment.
Beth Leslie, assistant professor of business and one of SIFE's faculty advisors, said the project is especially relevant for students attending college -- as it may provide insight and knowledge about how to understand their finances before they begin work.
"If we can graduate students who understand how to manage their money during their first job, they'll be so much better off 10 or 15 years down the road," she said.
In order to lure and entice Twitter users to follow them, the SIFE team has been distributing prizes to random individuals, and have also been involved in the 'Campus Challenge' -- where students are asked to complete quizzes to determine their financial competency.
Teresa Hassara, Senior Managing Director and Head of Institutional Client Services at TIAA-CREF said:
"As a nation, we need to do a better job of promoting financial literacy, especially among future generations -- and who better to do that than their peers.
We are excited to see the many creative ideas and financial education programs that will emerge from this challenge and to witness this next generation of leaders take the reins in this important educational area."
The teams who are competing will be recognized at the SIFE National Competition in Kansas City next month. First place wins $5,000, second place $4,000, third place $3,000, and six National Finalists will win $1,000 each.
Image credit: Chinen Keiya
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