Capital One promotes financial literacy

Capital One Bank on Long Island wants to make you literate -- financially, anyway.

The McLean, Va.-based bank Tuesday launched a "Financial Literacy Challenge," hoping to teach the young, the middle-aged and the elderly how to plan financially, how to budget and how to save.

The program, the bank said, will award $125,000 to 25 local organizations -- nonprofits, schools, senior citizen groups and others -- to help implement financial education programs. Each of the groups will get $5,000 to set up programs that will run from September until May 2013.

Two of the 25 groups that demonstrate the greatest impact on the people they serve will each be awarded an additional $15,000 to continue such programs.

"We're looking for creative ways to get the message across," said Andrew Corrado, the bank's marketing president for Long Island.

Applications can be submitted until May 11.

The application and information is available at cybergrants.com/capitalone/financialliteracychallenge