Biz Kid$: Credit Union-Sponsored TV Series Airing Nationally on PBS |
Credit Unions Recognized on the Air |  Every Biz Kid$ episode begins and ends with a narrator reminding viewers that:
“Production funding for Biz Kid$ is provided by America’s Credit Unions, where people are worth more than money.” |
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|  PBS stations covering all 50 states are broadcasting new episodes of the Biz Kid$ TV series underwritten by America’s Credit Unions.
13 new episodes of Biz Kid$ are airing on 334 PBS stations reaching 97% of the U.S. public television market.
Every episode includes four stories from successful young entrepreneurs reinforcing the importance of budgeting, saving, and giving back to the community.
The first 26 episodes reached 91% of the country.
“I liked it when they interviewed kids from all over the United States,” said Tommy Webster, an 11-year-old who watches Biz Kid$ regularly on the series’ flagship station, WXXI in Rochester, New York. “I learned how I could save money and spend it the right way without blowing it!”
“My oldest son, who is 13, is saving money for the first time,” reported Cynthia Carrasco, a Biz Kid$ viewer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “I believe my son is going to grow up to be a better man because of Biz Kid$…. You have been an inspiration to us all.”
At the same time, Biz Kid$ makes it fun to learn about money. New episodes include silly spoofs of Frankenstein, The Matrix, 24, The Wizard of Oz, and more....
The shows are also designed to provide teaching materials for credit union educators. Using national financial literacy standards, episode-specific curriculum will be developed by Outreach Extensions, the creator of educational materials for Bill Nye the Science Guy, Liberty’s Kids, Kratts’ Creatures, and other public television series.
Free curriculum and family activities for every episode will be available on the interactive Biz Kid$ website (www.bizkids.com).
The Washington Credit Union Foundation manages the Biz Kid$ project and a coalition of more than 130 credit unions, leagues, foundations, affiliates, and service providers who contribute to the national production. Credit union organizations also can sponsor local underwriting spots.
Stories From Your Community
If you hear about successful young entrepreneurs in your community, encourage them to try to get their stories told on TV!
Aspiring Biz Kid$ can submit their stories via www.bizkids.com by clicking on "You Can Be a Biz Kid" or via e-mail to bizkids@wxxi.org. |
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| | | | Each 30-minute episode is contained on a separate DVD and comes in a handsome master box set for $168. If you are a national underwriter to Biz Kid$, your cost is $89 per box set. Click here to order today! |
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|  Making television history, PBS stations serving 50 states and the District of Columbia are broadcasting the Biz Kid$ TV series exclusively underwritten by America’s Credit Unions to teach kids about money. It's the first national television series ever sponsored by credit unions.
More than 107 million American households -- including more than 271 million people over the age of two -- have access to the 39-episode series on 334 PBS stations (97% of the US public television market).
According to Biz Kid$ Producer Jamie Hammond, the show is now the highest carried program on American Public Television and exceeds all their other children's programs in carriage by more than 20%.
Biz Kid$ is airing in 24 of the nation’s top 25 public television markets, with dozens airing the show several times each day. |
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 | | | Click here to see a Biz Kid$ epsiode on Detroit Public TV. The episode begins with a local underwriting spot from DFCU Financial Federal Credit Union in Dearborn, Michigan. The local credit union spot is followed by the America's Credit Unions spot that will be seen before and after every episode in every market where Biz Kid$ is being broadcast. |
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| “The number of PBS stations committing to carry Biz Kid$ is growing daily,” reports RoxAnne Kruger, Biz Kid$ Project Manager at the Washington Credit Union Foundation. “Biz Kid$ viewership represents a diverse geographic balance of coverage across the country in big market areas.”
Biz Kid$ is also airing in the United Kingdom and Ireland on a national business channel.
Produced in high definition by the Emmy Award-winning creators of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Biz Kid$ is a fun, fast-paced series designed to entertain, engage, and elevate kids’ knowledge about money.
The vision is for Biz Kid$ to do for financial education what Bill Nye did for science. For comparison, Bill Nye the Science Guy initially launched on 40 PBS stations. |
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| Check Your Local Listings | | Here's a new resource to target where Biz Kid$ will air in the next two weeks:
Click www.bizkids.com. You'll see a small box at the top of the page under the logo. Simply type in a zip code and click Submit. Then the system will show you the local PBS station's Biz Kid$ schedule for the next two weeks.
If no results pop up, this means the local PBS station is between seasons of Biz Kid$. You can check back in a couple of weeks for an update. |
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Funding Biz Kid$ through Credit Unions |  The National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) is the largest funder of the America’s Credit Unions underwriting group. NCUF committed $2 million to Biz Kids over three years from a special sub-fund of its Community Investment Fund (CIF).
“The National Credit Union Foundation is proud to be Biz Kid$’ largest sponsor,” affirmed NCUF Executive Director Steve Delfin. “This TV series, together with the teaching curriculum being produced, will fulfill a key part of our mission: to bring financial education and literacy to our nation’s youth. Biz Kid$ has the potential to be the most visible youth financial literacy program our nation has ever seen.” |
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| Additional Funding Needed for New Season | | The first 26 episodes of Biz Kid$ are paid for. “National underwriting dollars are needed now to pay for the next 13 episodes delivered to PBS stations,” explains Kruger. “We are asking credit union supporters to please consider a contribution to Biz Kid$ in 2009 to help cover the television production, website and curriculum development costs.”
To keep Biz Kid$ on the air with credit unions’ funding, supporters can contact their state credit union league to receive wire transfer information, or a fill out the pledge form here.
“When you fulfill your pledge to Biz Kid$, you will become a part of television history,” concludes Delfin. “You will join the underwriting team supporting the first national TV series ever funded by credit unions.” |
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Credit Unions Can Teach Biz Kid$ | Companion materials and other resources for teachers and parents are available at no cost on the Biz Kid$ website, www.bizkids.com. The site also features clips from the series and invites kids to appear on the show.
Website visitors can now sign up for the Biz Kid$ monthly newsletter, The Vault. The e-mailed newsletter offers ideas on how kids can start their own businesses, earn money, and make their money grow.
“Credit unions have a rich tradition of giving back to their communities,” observes Kruger. “We strongly encourage all credit unions to support this important project. This can be either a monetary contribution or by volunteering to teach the curriculum at local public schools or after-school programs.” |
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 “We profile real kids running real businesses, from big companies with product lines to small businesses like dog-walking,” says Biz Kid$ Executive Producer Jamie Hammond. “The series also shows kids who are running businesses to advance social causes and give back to their communities. This humanizes the financial literacy aspect of the production and shows kids the range of possibilities available to anyone who wants to become a 'biz kid'.” |
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| Biz Kid$ Video Promo | | Watch the three-minute video highlights package:
Each full 30-minute episode of Biz Kid$ may be seen online after it airs on PBS.
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| About Biz Kid$ | | | Produced in high definition by the Emmy Award-winning creators of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Biz Kid$ is a fun, fast-paced series designed to entertain, engage, and elevate kids’ knowledge about money. The vision is for Biz Kid$ to do for financial education what Bill Nye did for science. Every Biz Kid$ episode will begin and end with a narrator reminding viewers that “Production funding for Biz Kid$ is provided by America’s Credit Unions, where people are worth more than money.” Biz Kid$ is produced in association with WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, New York. It is distributed by American Public Television. Major funding for Biz Kid$ is provided by a coalition of America’s Credit Unions, led by the National Credit Union Foundation and the Washington Credit Union Foundation. |
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| About Biz Kid$ LLP | | | The Biz Kid$ team is best known for creating and producing Bill Nye the Science Guy. The series received multiple awards – 26 national Emmys (including two for Outstanding Children’s Television Series) – and in 1999 received the National Science Board Public Service Award, among others. Over the past decade, the producers have also created over 275 episodes for PBS in the areas of How-To and Natural History. The team’s experience includes working with Danny Thomas, Bob Hope, David Letterman, Willie Nelson, Gary Coleman, and many others on projects for NBC, CBS, ABC, The Food Network, General Electric, General Motors, Microsoft, National Geographic, and President Bill Clinton. Other awards include two Gold Medals from the New York Festivals, the first Annenberg Foundation Award, two Monitor Awards, and two Environmental Media Awards. |
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About the Washington Credit Union Foundation |  The Washington Credit Union Foundation (WCUF) is a 501(c)3 philanthropic organization affiliated with the Washington Credit Union League. The WCUF engages in several endeavors, including consumer financial education, community outreach grants, small credit union development grants, scholarships, and disaster relief grants. |
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About the National Credit Union Foundation |  The National Credit Union Foundation is the U.S. credit union movement’s primary national charity and fundraiser. In 26 years, NCUF has provided more than $26 million in grants supporting its mission to promote consumers’ financial independence through credit unions. NCUF continues to earn the Better Business Bureau seal of approval as an “Accredited Charity” by meeting all 20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards for national charities. |
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