$10,000 African American Study Abroad Scholarship

Did you know that the United Negro College Fund had a $10,000 scholarship to help Black students in the United States study at a University on the continent of Africa?

The Joseph A. Towles African Study Abroad Scholarship is named in memory of Dr. Joseph A. Towles, a black social anthropologist and specialist in the study of African cultures. Dr. Towles, a native of Virginia, earned his doctorate at the Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

This makes me wish I was still in school so I could apply for this scholarship. I’ve been to twenty countries on five continents but I’ve never had the pleasure of studying at a university abroad. There are only three more days to get your application in. Hurry. This is a great opportunity.

African American Study Abroad Scholarship
United Negro College Fund
Deadline to Apply: Nov. 3, 2017
Award Amount: up to $10,000

By providing financial assistance for UNCF students to study at an established university within the continent of Africa, The Joseph A. Towles Scholarship will allow students to receive an incredible academic experience and exposure to the rich traditions within African cultures.

Click here to visit the United Negro College Fund’s page.

$5,000 Scholarship for Black Farmers

I read this from Soul Fire Farm this morning:

Help spread the word: These scholarships are open to any applicants who self-identify as Black farmers or aspiring growers at any scale, or their dependents. No need to have land to apply, and there are many eligible fields of study.

Application deadline is April 28 for scholarships of up to $5,000 through the National Black Farmers Association for students/aspiring students who “plan to enroll or are enrolled in agriculture-related study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school.” Any field related to agriculture could be supported (including business, engineering, animal science, marketing, mechanics, environmental science, agribusiness, food sciences, biology, holistic nutrition, urban farming, veterinary science, and many others!)

More details and application here: https://www.scholarsapply.org/blackfarmersassociation/

 

Carmelo Anthony Founds M7 Tech Partners

Carmelo Anthony has decided to co-found a company, M7 Tech Partners, that will invest in technology start-ups. The NY Times says:

The idea that turned Carmelo Anthony into a venture capitalist came to him during practice with the Knicks last season.

The basketball star became interested in the sophisticated sensors that players had recently started wearing to track their performance …

The average basketball player has a career of five seasons. After playing many athletes have little money and no skill set other than playing basketball. I’m glad to see that Carmelo Anthony is building a financial foundation to make sure that he and his family will be financially secure after retirement from basketball.

Bloomberg reports that Anthony said:

“We are actively looking for ventures with strong leaders creating breakthrough products that resonate with consumers,” he said. “I particularly have my eye on companies that are involved with wearable technology and connected devices – these will be huge areas for the future.”

Investing in tech start-ups is a tough field, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on M7 Tech Partners. I wonder if M7 will actively pursue Black and/or Latino tech start-ups?

 

Financial Institutions Owned by People of Color

Did you know that there are 28 financial institutions owned by Black people? How about that there are 33 owned by Latinos? 86 owned by Asians and 19 owned by Native Americans? If you want to use your funds to grow your community then using a financial institution owned by communities of color might be right up your alley.

Check out the whole list here.

Allensworth Juneteenth Celebration

Col. Allensworth created the town of Allensworth, CA. It was a town founded in 1908, with the idea that African Americans could own property, learn, thrive, and live the American Dream. Every year they have several events to celebrate and commemorate this town.

Saturday, June 9th from 10am to 4pm Shay Olivarria of Bigger Than Your Block will attending the Allensworth celebration of Juneteenth in Allensworth, CA. She’s pleased to be presenting a lecture on financial education among Blacks.  The town was founded by Col. Allensworth because he believed that Blacks needed to be financially independent. He envisioned a town with it’s own school, businesses, and a college. The water turned brackish and people left, but the park has been turned into a state park.

Click the photo to visit the park’s page.

Of course it’s a celebration of enslaved Africans finally being made aware that freedom had come, but it’s also a celebration of our survival. As we remember how far we’ve come, it’s important to plan for the future. Working towards owning businesses, increasing our networth, and passing on our wealth to our children has got to become paramount.

The day will include entertainment for all, food, and of course some great speakers. Shay Olivarria will sell copies of her three books on site or buy them beforehand and have her sign them at the event. Either way, come on out and help celebrate the beauty of Black folks in America June 9th in Allensworth, Ca.

Book Shay Olivarria to speak at your event.

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and companies across the country. She has written three books on personal finance, including Amazon Best Seller “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”. Shay has been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, and The Credit Union Times, among others. To schedule Shay to speak at your event visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com.

Passport Day 2012

Shay visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Osaka in 2011.

Why is there a photo of Shay standing in a train station in Tokyo? Saturday, March 10th is Passport Day! The company is named “Bigger Than Your Block” for a reason. We believe that travel is an integral part of education. We’re encouraging everyone to go get your passport tomorrow (even if you don’t know where you’d like to go or if you don’t have the money to pay for it) because taking that first step will start changing your mindset.

Officially, Passport Day is “On Saturday, March 10 only, apply for your U.S. passport at a Regional Passport Agency without an appointment. You will be able to apply for standard processing (4-6 weeks) or pay an additional $60 for expedited processing (2-3 weeks, door-to-door).”

Necessites un Passport de America?

Applying to a  get a passport is SUPER easy. You just bring your birth certificate, two regulation sized photos (get ’em at AAA for about $10), a photo ID and pay your fee. Beware: the office is going to take your birth certificate (they will mail it back to you with your passport). The whole thing will last about 5 minutes and you’ll end up with the ability to travel the world!

U.S. Dept. of State website:

First-time applicants

Renewals

Minors (under 16)

Shay at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in 2006.

Now, Americans can get a passport (for the WORLD!) and a card to travel to Canada and Mexico for about $25. When I was a kid, I started a file with all the the places I wanted to visit. It took me a while to get started (I was 27) but I’ve managed to visit 9 counties on 3 continents. I wish I would have known it was this easy a loooong time ago.

Read more about it at:
I’m Black & I Travel
Los Angeles Times

 

Happy travels!

 

 

Your Job is NOT Your Wealth

New article from the Money Matters series on BlackVoiceNews.com:

I’ve run across many people that seem to think that having a job is the best way to create financial stability. I’m aware that it’s a common idea, but it always floors me when I hear it. Owning a business and having passive income are much better ways to create financial stability for you, your family, and your community.

Let’s look at the idea that your job is a stable source of income. Ha! Your job is not as stable as you might think. We all know people that have been laid off for no reason other than it was best for the company’s bottom line. You will be hired or fired based on the needs of the company. Your employment, from the business’ perspective, has nothing to do with your needs.

What about the idea that having a job brings in “good” money? A job provides x amount of money for y amount of time. Usually you’re trading your time for a specific amount of money without understanding the affect our specific work has on the company’s overall bottom line. Businesses are in business to make money, so it makes sense that whatever amount you are being paid is obviously much less than that work is actually valued at.

A job is a critical piece for most people, but not because of the reasons that most people think. A job provides

…. click here to read the whole article.

Click here to check out all the articles from Shay on BlackVoiceNews.com.

Mavs teach money lessons

As we all know, the Dallas Mavericks beat out the Miami Heat to become the 2011 NBA Champions. Most people had their money on the Heat winning due to the hype about the “Big 3”, the perceived skill of the team members, and the age of the players on the Maverics. The only thing that was not taken into account was who wanted it more.

Never give up
There was a lot of focus on LeBron getting a ring, but no one took the time to consider that if the Dallas Mavericks won it would be the first Championship ring for Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki too. Some thought that the Mavericks had no chance to win because of their finals defeat to the Heat in 2006. No matter how far gone you think you are in regard to your financial solvency, it’s …. read the rest of the article here.

To view more articles from Shay on BlackVoices.com click here.

Invest in Yourself

Read Shay's new weekly personal finance column on Black Voice News.

Starting this week the most dynamic financial education speaker working today has a weekly column on personal finance at Black Voice News! You can read her pithy insights and personal views on all things money in the physical paper and online. Check out this excerpt from her first article “Invest in Yourself” and leave a comment on BlackVoiceNews.com:

Every day we make decisions about how we will spend our money. Most of the time we spend our money investing in things that will not increase the value of ourselves, our families, and our communities. In 2010 African-American buying power was valued at $836 Billion by the U.S. Census. How much of that money went into purchasing things that increases the net worth of African-American households?

There is an idea that you’ve had for a while now about generating more income. It could be starting a business. It could be furthering your education. It could be cutting unnecessary costs to create, or add to, your emergency account or retirement account.

What’s stopping you from investing in yourself? I bet you invest ….

Read the entire article here.

Black Teen Empowerment Radio

I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to be a guest on Black Teen Empowerment Radio with Scotty Reid and R. Lee Gordon. We talked about community economics, recycling the Black dollar, the difference between traditional banks and credit unions, types of accounts, and a few tips from my book 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money.

Listen to Black Teen Empowerment Radio

Congrats!

Congratulations to SOAR’s Super Saje Squad for winning the first Black 365 Knowledge Bowl! The event was covered by Our Weekly:

“My mom was extremely proud and was talking to everyone on the phone,” Williams laughed. “I wasn’t surprised (when we won). I knew from the beginning we were going to win. I told my team we were going to outwork, out-perform, and outdo everyone. I told them, we have to act like we want it and if we do, we will get our heart’s desire.”

Each of the 15 participants received a copy of financial education book “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money“. The event was held Saturday at United Christian Fellowship Church.

From Our Weekly:

Despite the forecast for rain and snow, community members, educators, parents and friends of the competitors filled the sanctuary with high energy and support.

Created by local griot, Black history scholar and community leader, Jamaal Brown, 28, the Jeopardy-style quiz game consisted of four rounds of 10 categories in Black history including Egypt, famous firsts, and Africa.

For five weeks, the students studied subjects from ancient Egyptian history to current Black accomplishments.

“My expectations were far, far exceeded,” Brown said. “The event was more spectacular than I imagined it would be. Everything from attendance and crowd participation to the level of excellence and the level of mastery the students displayed.”

I’m proud to support the Black 365 Knowledge Bowl.

Black 365 Knowledge Bowl

I’m thrilled to announce that Bigger Than Your Block, LLC is a sponsor of the first Black 365 Knowledge Bowl!

See the bigger picture

I first heard about the event while reading Our Weekly.

African history lecturer Jamaal Brown, 28, who some recognize as the local griot, or oral historian, is getting ready to introduce the area to a more fun and competitive way of learning and appreciating Black history.

Brown is the creator of the Black365.US Calendar that highlights a day in Black history every day of the year. With his creation, he is launching the AV’s first Black365 Knowledge Bowl, a Jeopardy-style history competition between high school students from all backgrounds.

Teams from Antelope Valley High School, William J. Pete Knight High School and Students on the Academic Rise (SOAR) are hard at work, studying Black history in ten areas: Africa, Egypt, famous quotes, Civil Rights Era, athletics, famous firsts, noteworthy women, Haiti, “Who Am I?” (photo category), and from August in the Black365.US Calendar.

It will be held Saturday, February 19th in Antelope Valley.

Good luck to the sixteen contestants!

Shay on African Speak

I’m excited to be featured Saturday, July 10th on African Speak “Honoring Powerful Black Women in our Community”. As usual I’ll share some financial literacy tips, but I’ll also be talking about my journey from foster care to professional speaker and author in the personal finance arena. Along with me will be:
Jewel Carter – Community Activist / President Urban De’Version
Zekita Tucker – Author / CEO Zeniam Publications
Shanquil Merriwether – Community Activist / Milwaukee Chapter Pres. Action Network.

Join us every Saturday at 6:00pm (Central) for our Live Radio Show. We are dedicated to a rise in awareness of Afrikan people World-wide. We will cover topics that concern our Nation. Come share your views in our Chat Room with individuals of like mind. Call in your questions: (646) 381-4162 / Email your questions at AfrikanSpeak@yahoo.com or Text us at 414-379-7969 http://www.AfrikanSpeak.com

As a special treat I’ll be providing a discount code to purchase 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money and Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook. Listen in online or by phone Saturday 4pm PST and 6pm CST.

African Speak

Los Angeles Black Book Expo

I’m thrilled to be exhibiting at the Los Angeles Black Book Expo this year. The event will be held Saturday, August 21st at the Sheraton near the airport. The event is free for attendees.

There will be exhibitors, panels, workshops, spoken word, story telling, and the Sunset & Gumbo Radio Show will be broadcasting live from the event!

Save the date!!

HBCU Digest Column – Ignorance is Bliss

This month I began writing for HBCU Digest. I’m really concerned with providing financial education to students at HBCUs. These colleges and universities graduate half of the Black professionals in the US. It makes no sense to prepare these students to get a good job and not educate them on how to handle the money they will be earning.

Every month I’ll post financial education tips, musings from my work at HBCUs, and answers to questions from students at HBCUs. The first column is titled “Ignorance is Bliss”.

Be well.