2008 Grant Program

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation has announced its Grant Program for 2008, including an important change that makes it easier and more convenient to apply. Before submitting a full grant proposal, applicants now first submit a simple three-page Project Concept Form. Applicants whose projects most closely align with the Foundation’s 

priorities will be invited to submit a full grant proposal.

Project Concept Forms may be submitted at any time throughout the year, however, submission deadlines correspond to the announcement of grant awards in June, October and December of 2008. Project concepts received by February 8, 2008, will be eligible for a June funding decision.

Priorities for 2008 include:

• creating new marketing and distribution channels for financial and investor education
• helping Americans manage their finances and investments in retirement
• meeting the financial and investor education needs of underserved audiences
• using behavioral finance to improve saving and investing.
  

Eligibility requirements and additional priorities are specified in the Grant Guidelines.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to participate in one of the following Q&A conference calls:

• Tuesday, January 8, 2:00 pm Eastern
• Thursday, January 10, 11:00 am Eastern
  

For complete information and conference call registration, please visit the Grants page on the FINRA Foundation Web site. 

Foundation-Funded Research and Resources

Through targeted research and the development of new educational programs, FINRA Foundation grantees aim to improve investor literacy and the financial stability of all Americans. The Foundation is pleased to make available on its Web site the research and resources developed by and for its grantees.

Recently Posted Research

Overcoming Biases to Promote Wise Investing, a report (PDF 376 KB) by researchers from Princeton University, describes three types of biases that play a role in poor investment decisions: 1) people’s blindness to their personal susceptibility to biases, including the “halo effect” and “optimistic overconfidence,” 2) the dangers of fast thinking; and 3) the tendency to see future selves as other people. Interventions to promote wise investing by mitigating these biases are described in the report.

What Do Investors Want? A Survey of Retail Investors' Use of Non-Financial Information, summary findings (PDF 65 KB) prepared by researchers at the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.

Women and Minority Investor Behavior in America, a series of issue briefs prepared by researchers at Iowa State University and Ohio State University.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Stock Ownership, including two papers from researchers at Ohio State University published in the Consumer Interests Annual, examines racial and ethnic influences on investment behavior.

Social Marketing for Investor Education

The Foundation, in partnership with Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth, has created a toolkit to help our partners reach and engage new audiences. The toolkit includes a discussion on The Essence of Social Marketing, a social marketing audit, a comprehensive outline of a marketing plan, and a reading list.

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