American Savings Bank awards $190,000 to Hawai‘i Schools - 160 teams participate in 2015 Bank for Education KeikiCo Contest

HONOLULU — American Savings Bank (ASB) awarded $190,000 to 18 schools from across the state as part of its 2015 Bank for Education KeikiCo Contest. The inaugural business plan competition was open to invited K-12 schools. Since its inception in 2010, ASB has contributed more than $1 million to public and private schools across the state through the Bank for Education program.

The KeikiCo Contest provides an opportunity for Hawai‘i’s third through 12th-grade students to earn prize money for their school by turning their ideas into business plans. Each participating team of two to four students came up with an innovative product or service and developed a business plan, accompanied by a video pitch. Each participating team was eligible for a chance to win cash prizes in one of five categories: First Place, $25,000 per division (3 winners); Runner Up, $15,000 per division (3 winners); County, $10,000 per county (4 winners); and People’s Choice, $5,000 per division (3 winners). Six schools also received Special Mention prizes of $2,500 each.

“We know Hawai‘i’s keiki are full of great ideas. We developed KeikiCo with the goal of nurturing Hawai‘i’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Innovation is important to the future of our state, and the work of these talented students reflects the creativity and imagination thriving in Hawai‘i’s schools,” said Rich Wacker, President and CEO, American Savings Bank.

Participating schools competed in three divisions, Grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each team had an assigned teacher, parent or adult advisor as their point of contact and mentor. ASB teammates across the state worked with schools in their areas to provide guidance and support. ASB also partnered with Junior Achievement Hawaii to provide entrepreneurial training to interested schools. The deadline for completed plans was on November 2, 2015.

ASB’s leadership team joined business leaders from media, business, venture capital, education and the legal field in judging the plans and selecting winners. Each business plan was judged based on five categories: innovation, feasibility, relevance, potential demand and comprehensiveness. Videos were also judged on clarity, creativity and persuasiveness.

Participating Bank for Education schools have the opportunity to earn support for the programs and projects they need. Schools are eligible for volunteer service projects, grants during non-contest years as well as scholarships and internship opportunities for students.

The complete list of winners from the 2015 Bank for Education KeikiCo Contest below:

About American Savings Bank

Since 1925, ASB has served Hawai‘i’s businesses and communities by providing a full range of financial products and services including business and consumer banking, home loans, insurance, and investments. ASB is one of Hawai‘i’s leading financial institutions, with online and mobile banking services and branch locations statewide offering evening, weekend and holiday hours.

For six consecutive years, Hawaii Business Magazine has recognized ASB as one of Hawai‘i’s “Best Places to Work,” and was the winner of the large company category in 2015. For three consecutive years ASB has been recognized as one of the “Best Banks to Work For” in the U.S. by American Banker Magazine. For more than 90 years, ASB has been helping build strong communities. Through its Seeds of Service program, ASB teammates have contributed more than 20,000 hours of volunteer service, and the bank has donated millions of dollars to Hawai‘i schools, non-profits and community organizations.