The Financial Integrity Mentorship Program utilizes a combination of education (academic and financial), mentoring, and resources to increase students' capacities to provide for themselves as adults.

What happens in the program? Among other opportunities, this program provides financial incentives for students' passing grades. Because academic achievement and future ability to earn a wage are strongly correlated, and because financial incentives for students attending poorly performing urban schools has been proven to produce lasting positive increases in the academic achievement (Fryer, 2010), students are empowered as they experience their ability to provide for themselves. Students may use their money to buy their first car, pay insurance, go to college, rent an apartment, etc. At least 50% of their money is held in a savings account until their High School graduation. The other 50% is spent on durable items during supervised shopping trips. This long-term program also provides intensive one-to-one tutoring (provided mostly through our Mentoring Tutors who are college students familiar with economic disadvantage), financial education, life skills training, leadership development, and mentoring.

Do you pay for good grades? Yes! We offer financial incentives for good grades, but we do so much more! Learn more about Why we pay kids for good grades and the theory and research behind financial incentives for good grades. For more information about the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) model, please visit our Supporting Research page.

How do I sign-up or volunteer? Contact the Executive Director, Jennifer Brost at 319-825-4551 or iscouth@aol.com. Students are selected from targeted regions of Waterloo and must begin before the 9th grade.