Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Money Smart Week
Money Smart Week began as a coordinated effort of the Money Smart Advisory Council, a diverse group of more than 40 Chicago-area organizations working together to promote personal financial literacy. Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow convened the Council's first meeting in July 2001, during which members agreed to share resources and ideas to achieve greater public awareness of the programs and services available in the city of Chicago.

The result was Money Smart Week 2002, six days of focused presentations by community groups, financial institutions, government agencies, educational organizations, and financial experts, all designed to help consumers learn to better manage their personal finances. The effort would showcase different programs, help consumers get information, bring together different organizations - many for the first time, and help these organizations share expertise and leverage limited resources.

Today, Money Smart Week is much broader in scope and continues to expand, creating new partnerships, heightened exposure, and substantive events. Furthermore, Money Smart Week has grown beyond the Chicago metropolitan area. In 2004, the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago formulated its own Money Smart Advisory Council to adopt and launch Money Smart Week in metropolitan Detroit. Highly successful, Detroit has continued working with its community partners to advance financial literacy in Southeast Michigan.

Chicago's fifth-annual Money Smart Week was held May 1-6, 2006. Nearly 200 partner organizations carried out some 275 educational activities for thousands of people throughout the Chicagoland area. Partner organizations carried out a wide range of activities, first time homebuyer seminars, estate planning, personal finances for women, auto financing education, and educating teens about credit. A special initiative also continued in 2006 geared toward the needs of the Latino community with 45 educational activities conducted in Spanish.

Money Smart Week 2007 is set for April 30 - May 5. Hundreds of free events are already being planned, including a number on the subject of auto financing.