Strive Workshop & Research Study: York University, Spring 2019
Strive Helped Students
Set personal goals and develop an individual plan for success
Solve financial problems by leveraging scholarships, bursaries, and effective budgeting.
Build momentum, make meaningful progress and reduce their money stress
What was the Research Study?
Strive & the York University Community Finance Project (YUCFP) recognized how stressful money can be with 47% of Canadians living paycheque to paycheque¹ and 27% of students very stressed out about paying for school², more so than finding a job after graduation or achieving academically.
The York University Community Finance Project (YUCFP) works on community based research to increase the financial capacity and the well-being of financially excluded Canadians. In 2016, Strive created a new peer to peer ecosystem based approach to helping individuals build financial resiliency.
YUCFP & Strive piloted this approach with students.
What did the Research Study involve?
The research study included two main components:
A Finesse your Finances Forum open to all students taking place November 21, 2018
A 6-week workshop series focused on goal oriented capacity building. The series was delivered to two cohorts of 18-20 students beginning in February 2019.
What were the Research Study Results?
We were very pleased with the results of the program.
Strive saw meaningful increases in the number of students who consider themselves very knowledgeable or knowledgeable on key indicators including:
Keeping track of money; 24% increase
Making ends meet; 67% increase
Shopping around to get the best financial product; 167% increase
Staying informed on financial issues; 200%
Strive also saw a:
47% increase in the number of students who would cut back spending or do without if they ran out of money
52% increase in the number of students who strongly agree or agree that they always research their choices thoroughly before making financial decisions
80% increase in the number of students who felt that their student loan was causing them no stress or a small amount of stress
Made possible by:
“I realized that the 60 dollars a month I'm spending on coffee, I'm borrowing that from future me!
I'm gonna have to pay that back to myself at some point so I have to decide.
Do I want to make it way harder for myself? Or do I want to do stuff now to make it easier?”