At dinner the othernight, I asked my five-year-old daughter MacKenzie to tell me abouther day at school. Her face lit up and she said, “Mommy, Ms.Melissa gave me the coolest lesson ever. She was showing meaddition and did you know that one plus two is three?” Her beamingface, tone of voice and the true bliss she found in learning blewme away. It wasn't work. It was joyful and fun.

As credit unions forge a path to attracting and retaining thenext generation of members, we have to make learning fun. Accordingto the Millennial Disruption Index, 71% of millennials would rathergo to the dentist than listen to what banks are saying. This isparticularly troubling, when juxtaposed with Filene ResearchInstitute's recent research on the millennial generation'sfinancial capabilities titled, “Gen Y Personal Finances: A Crisis of Confidence andCapability”

The findings highlight that Gen Y is overconfident and underinformed as it relates to their finances. When asked about theirfinancial knowledge, almost 70% of millennials surveyed ratedthemselves as having high financial knowledge. When given afinancial literacy quiz, 8% answered all five questionscorrectly.

How might we engage millennials to learn more about theirfinances in such a way that they light up like MacKenzie did aboutaddition? It seems one way is to create entertaining education or“edutainment.”

In a recent Filene Research Institute pilot called “It's a MoneyThing,” offered in collaboration with Currency Marketing, creditunions shared fun, creative, financial education content packetswith their members. The monthly content packets included graphicsfor social media, videos, infographics, articles, handouts andpresentations.

Each month, the main character in the content packets, Jen,shares a story from her life that highlights what she is learningabout her finances. Topics include such important matters asBudgeting Basics, Foiling Identity Theft, Living on your Own,Leasing vs. Buying a New Car and Emergency Fund Boot Camp. There isa new topic every month and the topics are aligned with theNational Financial Literacy Standards.

A key question during the pilot was: If we make high-qualityfinancial literacy content that is clever, concise and easilyaccessible, will it be adopted?

Our study demonstrated that this approach can increaseengagement. The following results are from credit unions thatparticipated in the pilot:

• A 9% increase in members under 35;

• Satisfaction with social media engagement increased by 100%;and

• The credit union website, social media and financial educationpresentations in schools were the most popular ways to use thecontent.

Your credit union can make a difference with our next generationof members. Financial literacy can be fun. Consider ways that yourcredit union can evolve financial education efforts to be crisp,engaging, fun and delivered through multiple channels. Imagine theimpact if your credit union could create jubilant enthusiasm withmillennials. MacKenzie reminded me that learning is fun. We providea better experience than visiting the dentist and if we want tocreate a future for credit unions that includes Gen Y, it's time toput this knowledge into action.

5 Steps to Engaging Millennials Using FinancialLiteracy

1. Make it fun. Create or leverage content that isplayful and fun. Cartoon videos work!

2. Try new channels. Share content in multiplesocial media platforms, in your branches, in schools, on yourwebsite and on your blog. Having content in different locationswill ensure you reach a broader audience.

3. Keep it short. Keep videos under three to fiveminutes as attention spans are very short. Ninety second messagingis even better.

4. Engage your team. There is no better way toreach your members than to create evangelists with your internalteam. Be sure you share all the new content with your internal GenY team members. Use their feedback to make your approach evenstronger.

5. Keep it coming. Create an ongoing plan thatkeeps content fresh and refreshed regularly. A content calendarwith a regular approach will build stronger, long-term success.

Tansley Stearns is chief impact officer for Filene ResearchInstitute. she can be reached at 203-859-2666or [email protected].