Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 61 that discusses ways money management software could help you with financial planning and management over your lifetime. Charitable Giving. There are many personal and financial benefits to charitable giving. Create a plan for charitable giving for the upcoming year by identifying one or two organizations you would like to support. Research these organizations to confirm they are the type of organization they claim to be. Next, investigate the ways in which charitable giving can create a tax benefit in your state. Nature of Financial Planning. Nature of financial planning is a term that is used in personal finance. Using the Internet, research this phrase. Write a paragraph describing what it means to you. Portfolio Development Objective. Before you begin collecting information for your portfolio, write an objective for the finished product. An objective is a complete sentence or two that states what you want to accomplish. The language in your objective should be clear and specific. Include enough details so you can easily judge when you have accomplished it. Consider this objective: “I will try to get into college.” Such an objective is too general. A better, more detailed objective might read: “I will get accepted into the communications program at one of my top three colleges of choice.” Creating a clear objective is a good starting point for beginning to work on your portfolio. 1. Decide the purpose of the portfolio you are c reating, such as short-term employment, career, community service, or college application. 2. Set a timeline to finish the final product. 3. Write an objective for your portfolio. College and Career Readiness CTSOs Performance. Some competitive events for CTSOs have a performance component. The activity could potentially be a decision-making scenario for which your team will provide a solution and present to the judges. To prepare for the performance component of a presentation, complete the following activities. 1. On your CTSO’s website, locate a rubric or scoring sheet for the event. 2. Confirm whether visual aids may be used in the presentation and the amount of setup time permitted. 3. Review the rules to confirm whether questions will be asked or if the team will need to defend a case or situation. 4. Make notes on index cards about important points to remember. Use these notes to study. You may also be able to use these notes during the event. 5. Practice the performance. You should introduce yourself, review the topic that is being presented, defend the topic being presented, and conclude with a summary. 6. After the practice performance is complete, ask for feedback from your instructor. You may also consider having a student audience listen and give feedback. EVENT PREP