The pandemic has amplified students’ complex and precarious relationships with money and there’s a big appetite for financial education. Finances are, now more than ever, at the centre of the student university experience and educational outcomes.
To help all students access vital education about money and discover practical ways to prioritise and develop their financial wellbeing, we’ll be hosting the first Student Festival of Financial Wellbeing in February 2022. 🎊
Why is the festival important?
As has become clear over the past year, students are more eager now than ever to improve their financial literacy and prioritise their financial wellbeing – the fact that over 3,000 students have engaged with our webinars over the past year alone is testament to this.
With over 1 in 3 students having had to skip a meal due to a lack of money and 75% saying they worry about finances, this is more than just a want – there is a clear need to help students to improve their financial situations and mindsets around money. 81% of our student community recently told us that finances play a part in their decision to study or continue studying, so addressing students’ financial worries and concerns is also essential to support institutions’ recruitment, retention and widening participation strategies.
Financial uncertainty impacts all aspects of students’ wellbeing, particularly their mental health – providing practical, actionable financial education will lead to a positive improvement in all areas of students’ lives.
of students surveyed who worry about their financial situation say this negatively impacts their mental health*
My mental health has been impacted seriously.
What is it?
The Student Festival of Financial Wellbeing will run for four weeks, in February 2022, with each week focusing on one of the four building blocks of financial wellbeing:
- Get: how students can increase their chances of generating income, from improving employability to landing a side gig or starting a business, both at university and afterwards
- Build: how students can build good habits early to support long-term financial wellbeing, including budgeting, managing debt and building an emergency fund
- Grow: how students can embrace investing and other ways to help them grow their money and make it work for them
- Protect: how students can protect their money, by recognising scams and learning more about financial coercion and crime
Festival lineup – what’s in it for students?
- Live webinars – 4x webinars, specific to each of the four building blocks of financial wellbeing
- Downloadable, digital guide – comprehensive e-book with a detailed section for each week of the festival (including financial education on the week’s theme, actionable suggestions + links to resources for further learning)
- Learning content – a free account for our Financial Wellbeing Platform (all students at participating institutions can access online learning about each week’s theme for the duration of the festival)
- Prizes – prizes on offer, related to each week’s theme (e.g. insurance, 1-on-1 sessions with a financial adviser, courses to further financial knowledge and skills)
- Dedicated website – the place for students to find out about the festival, sign up for webinars, download the digital guide and get their Blackbullion account
How can my institution take part?
The Student Festival of Financial Wellbeing is open to all universities and colleges (not just Blackbullion partners).
It’s free for Blackbullion partners as one of our Playbook 2021/22 campaigns. For institutions not yet working with us, there is a small charge (£199 + VAT) to cover the cost of the participation pack.
Order your participation pack to make sure your students have access to all the festival events & content.
What’s in the participation pack?
- Ready-made comms – for you to use to engage students (including email templates and social media posts)
- Festival website – to direct students to, so they can sign up for webinars, download the digital guide and get their Blackbullion account
- Press release template – provided by a PR professional
- Digital images for promotion/engagement – including for social media and TV screens
- Campaign kick-off webinar (Tuesday 11th January 2022, 10.30am) – to help you prepare and provide support with promotion ahead of the festival
Order your participation pack now.
More information about the Student Festival of Financial Wellbeing
Watch the campaign briefing recording
Access the slides from the campaign briefing webinar here.
If you have any questions or want to speak in more detail about the festival, contact us at hello@blackbullion.com and don’t forget to sign up for our staff newsletter to receive all updates about the festival.
*Money and mental health: how financial wellbeing impacts students
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