Investor Education & Protection Program With $1,000 Prizes To Be Launched By Investor Protection Institute In Seven States & DC
New National Contest With Seven Prizes of $150 Also Launched Online, Open to Residents in All 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Citizens in seven states and the District of Columbia (DC) are eligible to participate in an investor education and protection program and contest taking place at various times from April 1- October 31, 2017. The DASH for the STASH program is being launched by state securities agencies and the nonprofit Investor Protection Institute. The Investor Protection Institute will present the winners in each state and DC with a $1,000 prize to open or add to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for 2017.
Along with the District of Columbia, the seven participating states are Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. DASH for the STASH will be offered at public libraries, colleges, high schools, workplaces and community organizations in the participating states and DC. For the current list of DASH for the STASH locations, go online to http://www.iInvest.org/programs/dash-for-the-stash.
New in 2017 and running independently of the poster version of the contest held at participating locations, there will be a national online DASH for the STASH contest open to all members of the public including those participating in the state contests. The national online version runs for seven months from April 1st through October 31st and operates in a video game format. National participants will have the opportunity to compete in an online version of the DASH for a chance to win one of seven $150 IRA contributions. For more information, visit http://www.iinvest.org/programs/dash-for-the-stash/#online
"Investor education has to be relevant to people to be most effective," said Don Blandin, president and CEO of the Investor Protection Institute. "By bringing investor education to libraries and other community locations, we are ensuring that it is relevant to the lives of people and integrated directly into their lives. The best advice in the world only works if people find out about it and have an incentive to learn and absorb the information."
The DASH for the STASH contest is played much like a scavenger hunt. But instead of collecting objects, individuals collect information about saving and investing and leave answers to quiz questions. To enter the contest in the seven participating states and DC, individuals visit a participating library or other location where the set of DASH for the STASH posters are displayed. Contestants read each poster and then access the quiz question for each poster.
The DASH for the STASH posters each have a QR code and a web link to a quiz that individuals will access to answer questions and participate in the contest. The posters cover four key topics: finding financial advisers, avoiding fraud, understanding investment fees, and building a nest egg. The easiest way to play the state-level version of DASH for the STASH is to use a smartphone or mobile device to scan each poster's QR code, but you also will be able to use a laptop or desktop computer at most locations.
For more information about DASH for the STASH rules, go to http://www.iInvest.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/DASH-for-the-STASH_2016_Rules.pdf.
The Investor Protection Institute (http://www.iInvest.org) is an independent nonprofit organization that advances investor protection by conducting and supporting unbiased research and groundbreaking education programs. IPI carries out its mission through investor education, protection and research programs delivered at the national and grassroots level in collaboration with state securities regulators and other strategic partners. IPI is dedicated to providing innovative investor protection programs that make a meaningful difference in the financial lives of Americans in all walks of life and at all levels of sophistication about financial matters.
SOURCE Investor Protection Institute, Washington, DC
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