San Diego Organization Fights for Financial Education
The Society for Financial Awareness
Providing Financial Education, across America - One community at a time
SAN DIEGO – Jim Chilton tells a story of enrolling his children in one of the top school districts in the state. Some time later, he had a realization.
Well-regarded as these schools were, it became clear to Chilton that they were not preparing students to manage their finances once they received their diplomas and went out into the world.
“I recognized a deficit in financial education for both children and adults,” Chilton wrote. He confided his fears to his wife, and as the story goes, she gave him two choices: forget the problem or do something about it.
That was the start of the Society for Financial Awareness, also known as SOFA, which is now in its 32nd year.
The nonprofit organization presents seminars at all sorts of venues: community centers, libraries, universities, hospitals and houses of worship.
“If you can get a group of people together, we can give them some financial literacy,” said Rachelle Wolf, chief operating officer at SOFA.
Topics might include College Planning, Estate Planning, Medicare and Social Security as well as Asset Allocation and Modern Portfolio Theory.
SOFA, a nonprofit, makes its money through memberships.
SOFA members offer seminars in their areas of expertise. Members are estate planners, financial advisers, real estate specialists, tax planning specialists and attorneys. “We basically cover all the bases,” Wolf said.
Some 400 professionals across the United States work to broaden the public’s financial knowledge through SOFA.
Keeping It General
The information presented by the speakers is general; there is no selling involved. If a presentation turns into a sales pitch, the speaker runs the risk of having to leave the program.
“We run a really tight ship,” Chilton said.
领英推荐
Still, members get an opportunity to develop their business. At the end of a seminar, participants can complete an evaluation form and opt in for a complementary one-on-one meeting with the speaker.
There is a market for SOFA’s services.
SOFA works with groups including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
SHRM certified professionals are required to get 60 professional development credits every three years. SOFA presentations have been approved by SHRM and HR professionals can get anywhere from 1 to 3 credits per course.
All but the smallest businesses offering investment plans to their employees must, by law, provide some degree of financial education. The rules are spelled out in section 404(c) of ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. SOFA can provide classes for those groups.
On top of that, SOFA offers financial education classes to federal employees, including those employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. Sessions cover topics such as pensions and other federal benefits.
Life Skills
The law may require it, and professional organizations may require it, but when it comes down to it, financial literacy is a skill everyone needs.
Stresses related to personal finance affect how well employees perform within the workplace, Wolf said.
There have been some advances. Thirty years ago, Chilton said, only a single state — New Jersey — required some sort of financial education in the classroom. The situation is better now with 21 states (California included) among that number.
Chilton has repeatedly made his call for financial literacy. Some naysayers have come around to his point of view. Chilton recalled a conversation with a school superintendent who told him that de-emphasizing financial literacy had been a big mistake and that every school should have some sort of curriculum.
Chilton, 70, is a third generation San Diegan who has brought his message into the classroom himself.
One lesson he presented to an elementary school audience covered the effect of taxation.
He brought U.S. currency of various denominations to the classroom and as part of his talk, cut the bills into pieces (though he took care to cut the larger bills only in half).
His young audience “went nuts,” he said. “They never forgot what taxes do.” Chilton also runs a financial planning firm, Financial Solutions, as well as a marketing firm.
Society for Financial Awareness (SOFA) FOUNDED: 1993 CEO: Jim Chilton HEADQUARTERS: Kearny Mesa BUSINESS: Nonprofit focused on financial education WEBSITE: sofausa.org CONTACT: 858-268-7092 NOTABLE: The organization has more than 400 members, each giving presentations to improve financial literacy