Annual Treasury Financial Empowerment Awards Now Accepting Nominations
Awards recognize educators and community champions that boost financial literacy in Oregon
SALEM, Ore., November 21, 2022 – Across Oregon, financial empowerment champions are helping people in their communities build more secure lives. Today, State Treasurer Tobias Read announced that nominations are now being accepted for Treasury’s annual financial empowerment awards to recognize and celebrate their efforts.
For the second year, Treasurer Read and the Oregon State Treasury are recognizing standout educators and organizations that help boost financial empowerment in their communities. These awards are part of a larger initiative to highlight and improve financial literacy and wellness efforts statewide.
“Together, we can celebrate Oregon’s unsung heroes. There are standout individuals and organizations across our state, helping Oregonians make better financial choices and empowering them to build long-term financial security,” said State Treasurer Tobias Read. “For the second year, we’re highlighting those champions that improve the financial wellness of our neighbors and our communities.”“Together, we can celebrate Oregon’s unsung heroes. There are standout individuals and organizations across our state, helping Oregonians make better financial choices and empowering them to build long-term financial security,” said State Treasurer Tobias Read. “For the second year, we’re highlighting those champions that improve the financial wellness of our neighbors and our communities.”
Two awards will be granted each year: one will recognize a teacher, and the other will highlight a business, organization, or education enterprise. Nominations for the 2023 awards are now being accepted at the Oregon Treasury’s website. The process requires at least one letter of recommendation, with nominations due March 1, 2023.
Winners of the inaugural Oregon State Treasury Financial Empowerment Awards included ‘Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year,’ Ryan Ashlock, and ‘Financial Empowerment Community Champion,’ Oregon State Credit Union.
Ashlock is a Parkrose Middle School math teacher who created and teaches a popular personal finance course in the state’s most diverse school district. Oregon State Credit Union in Corvallis serves 24 Oregon counties and helped create a new workbook connecting mindful mental health and financial wellness as part of its comprehensive financial literacy outreach efforts through schools and numerous nonprofits.
The awards are sponsored in partnership with the Oregon College Savings Plan, a Treasury program that helps Oregonians statewide save for job training and higher education costs—helping to reduce student debt.
The Financial Empowerment Educator will receive $1,500. Their school will be awarded $500 with a randomly selected group of students receiving an additional $500 in scholarships from the Oregon College Savings Plan. The Financial Empowerment Community Champion organization will receive $2,000 and will be able to select another financial empowerment-focused organization or effort to receive an additional $500.
The awards are part of an initiative at Treasury that amplifies and elevates financial literacy and inclusion efforts statewide, and originated from a suite of recommendations from a citizen panel that met in early 2021. The recommendations also call for making financial education resources more accessible statewide, for increasing financial empowerment outreach in underrepresented communities, and for better coordination to advance financial education efforts and public policy.
The group also suggested the creation of a new committee to help maintain and focus awareness on financial literacy and wellness. Now established, the Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, which is chaired by Treasurer Read, has been meeting quarterly since November of 2021.
Questions? Reach out to FinancialEmpowerment@ost.state.or.us.