Wells Fargo

It occurred to me that most of these individuals at NOVA Safe Haven do not have bank accounts (or much money) so I thought it would be a good idea to bring in bankers from Wells Fargo to talk about financial planning on the most basic level.  I told the bankers the situation at Safe Haven and they prepared a presentation tailored to this demographic.  I made cookies to bribe the clients into coming and it worked.  I had about 10 clients show up for the presentation, which is pretty good.  As the presentation got underway, I realized they may have dumbed down the presentation too much.  They were talking to the clients as if they were 4 or 5 year olds.  Half way through I raised my hand and asked them to elaborate on their ideas about savings accounts and checking accounts and I think they understood what I was really trying to say about insulting the clients because they changed immediately.  They brought with them account sign up sheets and tried to get everyone to start a bank account.  It is almost what I wanted, but they became pushy and insistent that everyone sign up for an account.  I told them they needed to take it easy because these people probably do not have much money to put into an account.  I wanted them to come out to get the clients thinking about long term financial planning.  Many of the clients keep their money in a backpack or in their pockets which is dangerous, especially living on the streets.  The presentation went well but I wish the bankers would have been more easy going about signing people up for accounts.  It may have turned some of them off, but hopefully the overall effect was a positive one.