Best Practice Topics for 2007-2008 (2008 Regional Meetings)

Strategic Planning:  BAP in 10 Years
Goal:   Develop and present a plan for what BAP should look like in 10 years.  Think about how the organization can continue to both grow, and bring value to its members. 

Background:  The BAP Board of Directors is currently undertaking both long-term and short-term strategic planning.  We want to hear from the membership as to what direction you would like to see the organization go.

Help Getting Started:  Consider other similar not-for-profit organizations and their strategic plans (many available online).  What are the needs of our members?  What are we not providing now that we should provide in the future?

Service:  Financial Literacy of College Students
Goal: Engage in a successful project to increase the financial literacy of college students in your community. This can include discussions of credit card debt, student loan debt, saving and investing strategies, etc.

Background:  “The Project on Student Loan Debt notes that one-fourth of graduating seniors in 2004 carried more than $25,000 in student loan debt.  At public 4-year institutions, 62.4% of graduating seniors have student loan debt, while 73.9% of graduating seniors at private, non-profit 4-year institutions have student loan debt. Upon graduating, many young professionals incur more debt to purchase a car and a home, which must then be furnished.  We have also seen that the pressure for young professionals to appear successful often fuels additional credit-card debt, e.g., new clothes and frequent meals at expensive restaurants.” (“Reducing Materialism Through Financial Literacy.”  Bryant, Stone and Wier, The CPA Journal, 2007). 

BAP is committed to educating college students on the perils of over-extending oneself financially.  However, many college students don’t appreciate the importance of having a financial plan until they are out of college and working their first job.  As noted in the above quote, often students have massive student loans and credit card debt by this time.  We would like to educate college students as early as possible on smart financial planning to keep students from falling into the debt trap.
Help getting started:   Find resource materials and ideas on the AICPA’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy website (www.aicpa.org/financialliteracy) and Junior Achievement’s website (www.ja.org). Many financial institutions also offer materials and ideas related to financial planning for students – for example, see Citibank’s Student Planning Center.

Service:  Making a Difference in an Economically-Distressed Community
Goal:  Develop and carry out a program to assist an economically-distressed community.
Background:  Communities can struggle economically for a variety of reasons—lack of education, technology, infrastructure, and many other reasons.  Additionally, several natural disasters have caused tremendous damage across the U.S. and world.  Communities everywhere have struggled to rebuild with limited resources.  This project should be something both developed and carried out at least one time by the chapter. 

Presentation Abstracts are to be submitted to the Regional Director Bill Wells (wellsbil@u.washington.edu) by December 31.