Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — Jim and Marsha Reed, Solon, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, have pledged $50,000 to support Powercat Financial Counseling, a peer-to-peer financial counseling program at Kansas State University.

The program celebrates its fifth anniversary this year and has seen its staff double in size and its client load more than quadruple since it began. The Reeds' gift will help Powercat Financial Counseling continue educating Kansas State University students on budgeting and financial management through workshops and individual counseling.

"As Powercat Financial Counseling celebrates five years of growth and success, the greatest need is dedicated clinical space to allow for cutting-edge financial learning to occur," said Jodi Kaus, director. "We look to secure space through the K-State Student Union renovation, and this gift from the Reeds lays the groundwork to support that effort and to further student-to-student financial education."

The Reeds are 1970 graduates of Kansas State University and are members of the Kansas State University Foundation's President's Club and 1863 Circle, philanthropic leadership organizations for friends and alumni of the university. Together they have owned and operated Reed Financial Services for more than 30 years.

"Powercat Financial Counseling tries to help educate students to make good financial decisions, which is exactly what Reed Financial Services is being asked to do," Jim Reed said. "This program seems to fit perfectly with our mission by educating the millennial generation to make better financial decisions, and it could reduce stress on parents."

Philanthropic contributions to Kansas State University are coordinated by the KSU Foundation. The foundation staff works with university partners to build lifelong relationships with alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students through involvement and investment in the university.