UVU receives excellence in pro bono award

Through hours of pro bono work completed by Utah Valley University students at the Money Management Resource center, UVU was presented the 2019 “Excellence in pro bono award”. This award was presented by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. and the Foundation for Financial Planning.

The Excellence in Pro Bono Award is presented to a CFP Board registered program that has made “significant contributions to pro bono financial planning while providing exceptional learning opportunities to students,” said the CFP Board. UVU’s Money Management Resource Center achieved the qualifications for this award through more than 4,500 pro bono activity hours.  Forty-five UVU students offered one-on-one sessions which provided other UVU students financial advice, completely free of charge. With this award, UVU will receive a $5,000 grant, which will be used towards future pro bono activities.

“We congratulate Utah Valley University for its outstanding and important pro bono financial planning program to help not only those seeking financial guidance but also provide exceptional experiential teaching opportunities to students,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller. “The Money Management Center serves as a true example of giving back to the community.”

“The award is a great honor and shows the dedication of our Advisor Ryan Law to educate others and enhance our learning through hands-on experience,” said Eryka Helsten, a UVU senior majoring in Personal Financial Planning. She became involved with the MMRC because of her desire to help students become more knowledgeable about finances and credit. “The grant will help the Money Management Resource Center grow. Ultimately, it affords us more resources to reach more students and allows us to give them the opportunity and tools to change their own financial circumstances.”

The Money Management Resource Center was created to provide UVU students, athletes and members of the community access to financial planning. “…The MMRC is free to any students and they can schedule as many appointments with a coach as they want. We can create a plan with the student that meets their individual goals. All of the coaches are volunteers, so it is awesome to see that we all just do it because we are passionate about helping others,” said Helsten. “The Financial Planning Program at UVU has really been life changing. I have been afforded many networking, experience, and educational opportunities that I would not have gotten in other programs at other schools. I am proud to be a Wolverine!” 

To find out more about the MMRC, or to schedule an appointment, visit https://uvu.edu/moneymanagement/.