TL;DR - Short on time? Here’s the deal: Bringing EarlyBird to your child’s birthday party can turn forgettable gifts into a funded future. Download EarlyBird, add your gift link to the evite, and tell guests that in lieu of gifts, they can make contributions of any amount to your kiddo’s investment account.
Every dollar counts
When Franklin Thompson set about planning his son Bryant’s first birthday party, he knew two things for certain: First, the party would have a jungle theme, complete with green streamers, giraffes, zebras, and rhinos. Second: Little Bryant wouldn’t remember a single thing.
“He’s thirteen months,” Franklin said with a laugh. “He couldn’t really grasp what was going on.”
That’s one of the reasons why Franklin told all of the partygoers, from aunts to BFFs, that in lieu of gifts, he wanted them to consider giving to Bryant’s EarlyBird investment account.
“Everyone loved the idea,” he said. “We let people know how much it means, and how any amount counts, from $5, to $20.”
So, Franklin attached his son’s unique gifting link to the party evite registry, making it possible for all of the party guests to make meaningful investments in Bryant’s future.
Make lasting memories
Plus, in addition to giving investments, loved ones recorded video messages and wrote notes to celebrate Bryant’s big day. Bryant was left with a log of special memories from his first year, like holiday photos, and clips of his aunt marveling at how big he’s gotten.
“The beauty of it is, down the road, he can look at it and see who contributed to his nest egg,” said Franklin. “That’s a super cool thing. That’s something I’m excited for him to do as time goes on.”
Financial literacy ASAP
Why did Franklin choose EarlyBird as the home for Bryant’s birthday investments?
“It was a no-brainer,” he said.
Franklin’s parents raised him to be financially literate and thoughtful. When he received allowance as a child, he would also have to decide where the money belonged, and whether it was better used as spending money for whatever he wanted, savings for special items, or investments for the future.
“I’m an African-American male,” Franklin explained. “Financial literacy is a major issue as it relates to people in the African-American community. EarlyBird draws attention to and teaches literacy in something people that look like me often struggle with.”
By setting Bryant up to build wealth instead of acquiring toys or cash, Franklin is instilling lessons about long-term planning and thoughtfulness even from this earliest age. While a one-year-old can’t exactly wrap their head around compound interest and dollar-cost averaging, the feeling of care, love, and community support is legible even to little ones.
Investing for the long haul
Of course, it’s not just about celebrating the big days and celebrations, it’s also about creating good habits and learning along the way. Franklin also set up a monthly recurring investment so that Bryant’s portfolio can ride the waves of the market and take advantage of expert-recommended strategies like dollar-cost averaging.
Bryant’s EarlyBird investment account means he’ll have a launchpad for wherever his dreams take him, no matter what.
“I don’t know what college will look like in seventeen years,” Franklin said. “There are so many changes happening left and right. Whether Bryant wants a home, or seed money for a business, or he wants to flip real estate….” He trails off in thought, dreaming on behalf of his son.
“Whatever it is he decides to do, we’ll have a thoughtful conversation, he’ll set a goal, and I know he’ll use his EarlyBird investment for something constructive.”
With a monthly $50 contribution, plus the investment of birthday gifts, Bryant could be looking at over $60,000 by the time he graduates high school. Talk about a great gift!
Interested in bringing EarlyBird to your little one’s big day? Here’s how!
4 steps to their best EarlyBird birthday
- If you haven’t already, launch your child's account and customize their gifting page by setting a profile picture.
- Kickstart the gifting with your own contribution!
- Copy the link to your child’s gifting page, add it to your evite, and tell your guests why you’re using EarlyBird! (Ex: In lieu of gifts, we are thrilled to start growing our child’s first investment account! We hope that any contribution will go toward helping our little one follow their dreams and fund their future.)
- Got cash? No problem! Take a minute and invest any cash gifts from the big day into your little one’s account alongside photos of any special cards. It’ll grow up alongside any other investments.
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* Important disclosure: All investments involve risk. Actual investment performance may be different for many reasons, including, but not limited to, market fluctuations, time horizon, taxes, and fees.
This page contains general information and does not contain financial advice. All investments involve risk. Any hypothetical performance shown is for illustrative purposes only. Actual investment performance may be different for many reasons, including, but not limited to, market fluctuations, time horizon, taxes, and fees. Please consult a qualified financial advisor and/or tax professional for investment guidance.
