For Financial Literacy Month in April, credit unions should order a member-event kit centered on two product families. Kid-focused giveaways, including ceramic piggy banks and 4-function financial calculators. Member-appreciation items, including branded pens and reusable totes. Below is the kit, the quantities for a typical 12,000-member community credit union, and the 8-week lead time to order against.
What Financial Literacy Month is, in promotional-products terms
Financial Literacy Month is observed in April every year, with the CFPB, the NCUA, and most state credit union leagues running national or regional campaigns. For a community credit union, the month is two things at once. It is a community outreach event, with lobby tables, branch open houses, school visits, and partner-event sponsorships. It is also a member-appreciation moment, with statement inserts, member-event giveaways, and themed marketing materials.
The promotional products that work for Financial Literacy Month are different from a typical credit-union branded item. They have to read kid-friendly on the lobby table and adult-credible on the statement insert. The kit below balances both.
The kit, for a 12,000-member credit union
- Ceramic piggy banks, 200 units. Around $8 per unit at 200. These move on the lobby table for the first week of April and get handed out at school visits in the second and third weeks. Cosmetic difference between a ceramic and a PVC piggy bank is visible on a kid's desk. The ceramic reads heirloom. The PVC reads toy.
- Branded 4-function calculators, 150 units. Around $2.50 to $4 per unit at 150. Distributed at school visits and member-event tables. Adult members take a second one for the home office.
- Branded pens, 2,500 units. Wicked Cheap Pens at 32 cents per unit. Distributed at the lobby table, at the school visits, in the statement-insert mailing, and at the partner-event sponsorships.
- Reusable totes, 500 units. Non-woven polypropylene at $2-3 per unit at 500. Used to carry the kit out the door on member-event day, then come back to the branch with grocery shopping for the next 6 months.
The 8-week lead time to order against
Financial Literacy Month opens April 1. The order should be on the production floor by week 6 of February at the latest. Below is the 8-week countdown.
- Week 8 (early February): vendor selection, kit confirmation, quote.
- Week 7: artwork lock. Submit the credit union brand standards, the financial-literacy theme art if a national campaign is being co-branded, and the imprint copy for each item.
- Week 6: proof approval.
- Week 5: production runs on pens, totes, calculators, and piggy banks.
- Week 3: items off the production floor.
- Week 2: delivery to the credit union marketing office.
- Week 1: lobby table buildout, school visit kit prep, statement-insert print drop.
- April 1: month opens.
What the kit costs
At the quantities above, the kit runs roughly $3,900 depending on the calculator and piggy bank spec. That breaks down to about $1,600 in piggy banks, $450 in calculators, $800 in pens, $1,000 in totes, plus production setup and freight. For a credit union running 4 to 6 school visits, 1 to 2 partner-event sponsorships, and a statement-insert mailing, a program like this would be a great success.
If your credit union is planning Financial Literacy Month and you have not locked the vendor yet, call (603) 890-2406. I will scope the kit, quote against the 12,000-member range, and send the written quote within 24 hours. If your member count is larger or smaller, the kit scales linearly within plus or minus 20 percent on per-unit cost.
