Community

Availa Bank's Education Outreach

Availa Bank is dedicated to the communities we serve and one of the ways we reflect that is through our financial education efforts. We believe the more education we can bring to our communities the more prepared they will be to make sound financial decisions. Learn more about the Availa Bank's financial educational opportunities and the events we host in our branch communities highlighted below. We'd love to bring our financial education to you! If you're interested in a specific event or have an opportunity you think we would be interested in sponsoring, please contact us using the form below. 

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Availa Bank's Kickoff to College 

Availa Bank proudly sponsors College Nights in our Carroll, Nevada, Webster City, and Council Bluffs branch communities. Let's face it: signing up for college is CONFUSING! This event is geared towards bridging the college information gap for high school juniors and seniors and their parent(s) or guardian(s). This event provides information about filling out the FAFSA, EFC, scholarships, RAI, budgeting,  student safety, campus security and more. Attendees will learn from experts in the field and be able to speak directly to one of our FAFSA-certified employees! Watch our social media pages for more information on upcoming College Nights or call your local branch to find out when the next one is scheduled. 

Got questions about college financing but missed the College Night events? Not finding the answers online? Let our team help! You can reach our FAFSA-certified team members by phone, email, or stopping in their branch to get your questions answered. See our full list of certified team members below to find the one closest to you!

Got Fafsa Questions? Contact our

FAFSA Certified Team Members

April

Teach Children to Save Day

It's never too early to start teaching your kids strong financial habits. At Availa Bank, we want to provide you and your children with the resources to learn about saving for the future. 

Every April we celebrate National Teach Children to Save Day by heading out to daycare centers and schools in our branch communities to teach lessons about the importance of saving and provide your children with the foundation for a strong financial future. Are you looking for someone to come out and do a financial education presentation for your class? Fill out our contact form or reach out to your local branch for more information! 

Availa Bank's Senior Education Outreach 

As technology use continues to increase in the banking world, so do scams. Every individual should be aware of the risks of using online resources, especially when it comes to linking and paying for things directly from your bank account. There are plenty of online resources to help combat this rising problem, but these resources often leave out the most critically affected group: the elderly. 

Many senior citizens find themselves victims of common telephone or cyber scams without any knowledge of what they could have done to prevent it from happening. At Availa Bank, we want to help cut down on the number of scam victims by providing information to our senior community on:

• Recognizing and avoiding scams
• Tips on how to safely use mobile payment apps and services
• How to use our mobile and online banking 
• Identity Theft Information - How to avoid it and what to do if your identity has been stolen
• Recognizing the red flags of elder abuse

If you're curious about any of these topics, call your local branch to find out when and where the next workshop will be held, or fill out our contact form!

BizEd4 U

Partnering with DMACC, the Carroll County Growth Partnership, and the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, we put on our first BizEd4 U event in the spring of 2024. 

Availa works with DMACC and local high schools to determine students who are entrepreneurial-minded individuals. They are then tasked with coming up with a product/service in their groups that solves a problem or meets a need in their community. They are told to investigate their competitors, create prototypes or drawings of their product, and present their business plan to a panel of judges (local community leaders). Each group is assigned a mentor (other local community leaders) to help them with their final pitch. 

Groups have the opportunity to earn prizes for the top three pitches and judges will let them know if they're "in" or "out", just like Shark Tank. 

If you'd like an event like this in your community, please fill out our contact form below, give us a call, or stop by your local branch to get started!

Budget 4U

In our years of banking, we've come to realize that many people in today's world struggle with budgeting their money for the things they need. To combat this, we developed a budget simulation which launched in the spring of 2023. This simulation runs participants through many scenarios where they have to choose what they want to spend their money on. They are then given an envelope of play money to cover the expenses they chose. 

After the first round of the simulation, some participants may realize their choices were not within their financial capabilities. They are then given a second chance to go through and change their answers to something that better fits the money they have to work with. This is a great activity, not only for students of all ages, but adults as well!

Availa Bank also sponsors an Innovate U event in Ames! It's all possible thanks to our fellow sponsors: Ames Chamber of Commerce, Iowa State University SBDC, Boone Edge, and the Iowa State University Research Park. 

AgBiz4 U

Entrepreneurial ideas don't just happen in the business world. They're also incredibly important for the agriculture industry! Being rooted in Iowa for over 150 years, we know the importance of fostering new ideas and growth in ag. We launched the first AgBiz4 U event in the fall of 2023, reaching out to agriculturally-minded high school students to  come up with an agricultural product or service that meets a need/solves a problem in the industry and present it to a panel of judges. 

To put on this great event, Availa Bank partners with the Morningside University Applied Agrigultural and Food Studies department, as well as local high schools and their FFA programs. 

Availa Kares

As a major partner in the Availa Kares initiative, Availa Bank assists Hamilton County youth by providing funding and assistance for 529 College Savings Plans so students can further their education upon graduating high school. To learn more about this program, click here.

Financial Education Opportunities

Availa Bank is committed to bringing financial education to the communities we serve. One of our value statements is: We focus on our communities. We are proud to invest in and contribute to the communities that we serve. Availa Bank wants to bring financial education to our branch communities, if you are interested in having someone from Availa Bank assist you with financial education please fill out our contact form and someone will be in touch with you to get that scheduled.