For the team at
Give Oakland’s educators and staff a financial adviser in their corner.
Volunteer financial advisers meet one-on-one with your people, for free, and we run everything: the matching, the scheduling, the reminders and the follow-up. Your part is telling people. Here’s what you need, from the welcome packet to payday.
Not on the team? You can help too: send it to someone in one tap, or pass it on if an adviser has helped you.
staff have signed up through Oakland Unified School District.Everyone who signs up through your page is counted for OUSD.
Your page
Share this address rather than our home page, so everyone who signs up is counted for OUSD.
Ways to spread the word
Start anywhere. Everything here is ready to use, and nothing needs a login.
- At workWhat to say when money comes up
- Ways to say itReady-made lines for every season
- Send a messageWhatsApp, text or email, filled in
- Post an imageImages with your logo, and a caption
- Print and hand outThe flyer, handout cards and a QR code
- Website and newsletterWords to paste, and a link name people click
- Bring us inA staff briefing, a workshop, an event
When to bring it up
People think about money at a few moments in the year. Those are the moments to mention this.
When to mention it
- Onboarding: put it in the welcome materials
- Benefits season and open enrollment
- A change in pay, hours or assignments
- A break between assignments, or the summer
- Tax time
What to say
There’s a free service through Oakland Unified School District: a volunteer financial adviser meets with you one-on-one, by phone, and helps you make a plan. They can’t sell you anything. You can sign up at advisersgiveback.org/ousd.
It’s private: OUSD never sees what anyone shares with their adviser. It isn’t only for debt, either: an adviser can help with saving, retirement accounts and long-term plans.
Who can sign up: For households earning under $100,000 a year, or $150,000 for a couple, with less than $250,000 in savings.
Ways to say it, and when
Pick the line that fits the moment. Each one is ready to copy, with your link.
- Any time
Make the most of every paycheck
Not sure where your money goes? A volunteer financial adviser can help you make a plan for every paycheck, for free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Any time
A plan for debt
Paying down debt? A volunteer financial adviser can help you make a plan you can stick to, for free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- After a team meeting or training
Your question, one-on-one
Classes answer general questions. An adviser answers yours. Meet one-on-one with a volunteer financial adviser, for free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- February to April
Tax time
Getting a refund, or owe more than you expected? A free volunteer financial adviser can help you make a plan for it. Through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- January
New year, new goals
Starting the year with a money goal? Get a financial adviser in your corner, for free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Any time
Not just debt
Have a 401(k) or a Roth IRA and not sure what to do with it? A volunteer financial adviser can help with investing, too. Free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Busy weeks and bad weather
From home
You don’t have to go anywhere. Your free meeting with a volunteer financial adviser is by phone, from home. Through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Any time
Working, but stretched
Working hard and still stretched? You’re who this is for. Free, one-on-one help with money from a volunteer financial adviser, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Open enrollment
Benefits season
Choosing benefits, or not sure what your retirement plan is doing? A volunteer financial adviser can help, for free. Through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
- Graduation or a first job
Just starting out
Just starting out? It’s the best time to get advice. Meet a volunteer financial adviser, for free, through Oakland Unified School District: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
Send it in one tap
Pick an app and the message is filled in, with the link to the page made for your staff. Change anything before you send.
Images for social media
Each has your logo and ours. Pick one, then save it square for a post, or story size for Instagram and Facebook. The quotes are real clients’ words, first names only, shared with permission. Wide works for lobby screens, slides and the top of a web page.
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A financial adviser in your corner.Free, one-on-one help with money. No judgment, and nothing to buy.
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This program gave me clarity, structure, and confidence. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I now feel like I’m on a real path forward, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the support.
Preyasi, a client
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She created an actionable plan for me, broken up into smaller tasks so everything didn’t feel so overwhelming.
Francesca, a client
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He explained things to me thoroughly and provided me with actionable and easy first steps I could take to improve my situation.
Hyatt, a client
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He met me exactly where I was, without judgment, and helped me turn overwhelm into clarity.
Jennifer, a client
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This type of volunteer work helps to level the playing field for those of us who work hard yet may not have the means or accessibility to understanding finances.
Mary, a client
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I feel that my adviser showed compassion, empathy and really wants to help me.
Michael, a client
A caption to post with them
Questions about money? Through Oakland Unified School District, you can meet one-on-one with a volunteer financial adviser, for free. No judgment, and nothing to buy. advisersgiveback.org/ousd
Make a short video
People listen to someone they work with. A short phone video from your team does more than any graphic. Three ideas:
- “Something I wish I’d known about money”: then, “you can ask a financial adviser, for free.”
- Show the flyer in the break room, and where to scan it.
- “On your own time”: the meeting is by phone, from home.
Print and hand out
A flyer for the wall, cards people can take with them, and a QR code for anything you make yourself.
A flyer to print, in English and Spanish
Letter size: English on the front, Spanish on the back. Print it double-sided, or either side alone.
Handout cards, four to a page
Cut them apart, so people can sign up later, from home. Each card has its own QR code.
Where to put them
- In onboarding packets
- In break rooms and on staff boards
- With pay stubs or benefit statements
Your website and newsletter
Paste this where your community reads. It links to the page made for them.
Free help with money, from Oakland Unified School District and Advisers Give Back. Meet one-on-one with a volunteer financial adviser, at a time that works for you. The advisers volunteer to give back to their community, and every one is a fiduciary, which means they must put your interests first. It’s free, there’s nothing to buy, and OUSD won’t see what you share. Start at advisersgiveback.org/ousd.
Name the link in plain words
People look for help with money, not for “financial literacy.” Any of these works as a link or a button:
Where it works best
- Your intranet or benefits page
- Staff newsletters, Slack or Teams
- Text or app messages to your team
Bring us in
You don’t have to do this alone. Book a time with us and we’ll plan it together.
A briefing for your staff
We’ll join a staff meeting, in person or online, to walk through what this is, who it’s for and what to say.
A workshop by a volunteer adviser
Pick a topic your staff ask about: a paycheck, credit, taxes, investing basics. We find the adviser, and we can record it so you can share it, whole or in short clips.
Book a time with us or email [email protected]
What’s working for other partners
- A line in the welcome packet, so every new hire sees it.
- A reminder at benefits season.
- A post in January, and again at tax time.
- A short talk at a team meeting by a volunteer adviser.
Got help from an adviser? Pass it on.
The best thing you can do is tell one person who could use it. Send this, or say it in your own words.
I got free help with money from a volunteer financial adviser through Oakland Unified School District. If money’s on your mind, you can sign up too: advisersgiveback.org/ousd
Questions from your team? Email [email protected] or book a time to talk with us.