The Military Saves Campaign

1
The Military Saves Campaign

• OPLAN 2010

2
Social Marketing Campaign

• Military Saves is a DoD-wide financial readiness
  campaign to persuade military service and family
  members, to reduce debt and save money
• Military Saves encourages
• Developing a personal financial plan
• Establishing good credit
• Saving a portion of each paycheck
• Enrolling in SGLI, TSP, and (when eligible) SDP

3
Desired Outcomes

• Increased household savings for short- and
  long-term needs
• Decreased consumer debt
• Command climate and overall culture that supports
  prudent financial behavior over consumption
• Demand for financial literacy education and
  counseling
• Supply of financial products that encourage
  saving, especially regular (automatic) deposits,
  systematic increase in amount of deposits, and
  advance planning for purchasing and investing

4
Annual Saver Drive

• Annual during Military Saves Week
• Last Sunday/Feb to first Sunday/Mar
• In conjunction with America Saves Week
• 22 Feb 1 Mar 2009
• Goal motivate people to act!
• Enroll as Saver and save money!!

5
Ongoing Saving/Debt Reduction Campaign

• Enrollment open 24/7 year-round
• Participating organizations welcome and
  encouraged to organize local promotions to
  stimulate increased/new/automatic saving and debt
  reduction throughout year
• Changing to an ongoing campaign with 4 Quarterly
  themes Save Invest, Military Youth, Debt
  Reduction, Retirement

6
Military Saves Campaign Materials

• Growing infrastructure to support campaigning
  communities
• www.MilitarySaves.org
• Customizable Graphics
• Checklists
• PSAs

7
Campaign Coordinators

• Military Saves Acting Director Charles Lowery
  202-567-1000 charles_at_militarysaves.org
• Military Saves Assistant Director Julie Kyrazis
  904-215-2442 julie_at_militarysaves.org

8
Military Saves is part of the DoD Financial
Readiness Campaign

• OSD Brenda McDaniel
• brenda.mcdaniel_at_moscenter.us
• Army Michael Wood
• michael.a.wood_at_us.army.mil
• Navy David Dubois
• david.dubois1_at_navy.mil
• Air Force Leslie Joseph leslie.joseph_at_pentagon.a
  f.mil
• Lt Col Karen Terry
• karenm.terry_at_pentagon.af.mil
• Marine Corps Laura Bass laura.s.bass_at_usmc.mil

9
Saver Drive

• An organized effort to enroll as many people as
  possible in Military Saves
• A commitment to exercise good financial habits
  and encourage other Americans to do the same
• Savers who enroll online receive electronic
  newsletters and e-Wealth Coach advice

10
(No Transcript)
11
Desired Outcomes

• 10 or more of military personnel, civil
  servants, and defense contractor employees
  worldwide enrolled as Military Savers
• Receive electronic newsletters for financial
  readiness and savings tips
• Encourage them to get involved in encouraging
  others to
• Build wealth. Not Debt.

12
Desired Outcomes

• Project Officers at ever U.S. military
  installation CONUS and OCONUS
• One POC in every shop
• Suggested ratio for POCs to personnel is 1 50 to
  facilitate oneon-one contact
• Ratio of 1500 is better than no POC at all

13
Method

• Modeled on the Combined Federal Campaign drive
• Recruiting method is one-on-one personal contact
  of all personnel (military and civilian)
• Supported by visible leadership, emails, website,
  public affairs, partnerships, posters, special
  events, fun challenges, and outreach to family
  members, contractors, and the general community

14
Recommended Schedule October

• Commander Appoint installation Projo
• Communicate command directive for campaign
• Request POCs designated in all subordinate units,
  tenants and affiliated organizations
• Authorize Projo to task functional areas to
  invite community participation (PA, Finance, MWR,
  SEA, AAFES, DECA, spouse clubs, on base financial
  institutions, CAP, etc.)

15
Recommended Schedule November

• Commander, Projo, POC take the Saver Pledge at
  www.militarysaves.org
• Projo train POCs
• Projo ensure no firewalls block access to
  www.americasaves.org and militarysaves.org
• Projo schedule major events (Saver Drive
  kick-off, volunteer appreciation event, etc.) to
  permit Commanders participation
• Projo meet with PA and other key partners to
  establish marketing plan and other support

16
Recommended Schedule December

• POCs get unit manning document to identify the
  people youre responsible for recruiting
• POCs plan your program to start in January and go
  through the week following America Saves week
• POCs get creative about inviting family members,
  deployed members, and anyone else you dont see
  regularly at work

17
Recommended Schedule January

• POCs hang flyers, posters, and banners (start
  with a few, increase every week through kick-off)
• Projo, POCs meet with any volunteers youve
  recruited to help maintain their
  excitement/involvement and give them specific
  tasks
• Projo, POCs confirm with your leadership that
  they will be attending installation-wide special
  events and unit/shop activities
• PA start running teaser stories

18
Recommended Schedule February

• POCs Recruit Savers
• Public Affairs run feature stories about campaign
  activities and Saver success stories
• Projo install/display/update Saver enrollment
  display (similar to CFC thermometer what is the
  goal, and how close is the installation to
  reaching it)
• Attend kick-off and other events

19
Recommended Schedule March

• Projo prepare after action reports as required by
  branch of service submit success stories,
  suggestions, and best practices at
  www.militarysaves.org
• Commander, Projo, POCs recognize workers
  volunteer appreciation event, certificates of
  appreciation, letters to supervisors, passes/time
  off work, etc.

20
Promotional Campaign

• Year-round promotional campaign
• Commands encouraged to keep Build Wealth, Not
  Debt message in front of the community at all
  times
• Engage public affairs to promote the campaign
• Encourage defense credit union and military bank
  to do the same

21
Promotional Methods

• Regular feature stories, ads, and other articles
  in military/civilian newspapers
• Hold music messages
• Reader board messages
• Billboards, posters, flyers, banners
• Briefings and motivational speeches at
  commanders calls, organizational events, clubs,
  and special events
• Take the Saver Pledge at all personal finance and
  life skills classes and briefings
• Profile successful Savers and fun Military Saves
  events and activities in unit newsletters and
  other promotional avenues

22
Partnerships

• Military banks and defense credit unions
• Cooperative extension, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4H,
  your local chamber of commerce, Military Affairs
  Committees
• All military and private organizations
• MWR, AAFES/NEX, DECA
• Partnerships between for-profit companies and
  military organizations subject to restrictions

23
Participation

• All four Services and the U.S. Coast Guard
  participated in the campaign in 2007 and 2008
• Enrolled more than 25,000 individuals and
  stimulated more than 100,000 positive financial
  actions such as putting money in savings or
  investment accounts
• More than 80 credit unions and military banks
  participated in a wide variety of activities to
  promote personal financial readiness

24

• The campaign guidelines and resources are
  provided by DoDs nonprofit partner, Consumer
  Federation of America

25

• Military Saves was made possible in part through
  the generous support of the FINRA Investor
  Education Foundation.
• Please visit
• Military Saves is also supported by Chase Bank,
  Wells Fargo Bank, and Dave Ramseys Financial
  Peace University Military Edition.