COREVALLIS, Ore. – Could a financial publication written by and for young adults do for money what Rolling Stone did for music? brass Media Publisher/Founder/CEO Bryan Sims is counting on it and hopes that young adults across the country will be talking about money and walking into credit unions to pick up their next issue of brass Young Today, Rich Tomorrow. "We want to be the resource young adults turn to and help educate them about money in a way that is not boring and dry like most financial publications. We say `young today, rich tomorrow' on our cover because the best time to think about tomorrow is today," said Sims. "Our focus is to help young adults understand the rewards and benefits that sound money management offers. I'm a longtime credit union member and we just found that the credit union community has very similar goals of education." As both an educational piece and a marketing tool, the magazine is designed to provide those age 18 to 25 with straight talk about money – how to make it, how to manage it and how to multiply it. With a goal of delivering intelligent and entertaining content about "the money side of life" the inaugural issue covers everything from the pros and cons of moving off-campus and how to save on cell phone costs, to making a smart move with Roth IRAs and conversations with young successful entrepreneurs. Sims says the magazine is for those trend-setting credit unions most interested in targeting the young adult market. The idea is the credit union subscribes and in turn provides the magazine to its young adult members. The annual subscription cost for the quarterly magazine is $5, which decreases as multiple year contracts are signed. A customized credit union package is also available at a fixed cost of $2,495 per year and includes a credit union branded magazine cover complete with CU logo and colors; two full-page/four-color advertisements; one 1/3 page, 4-color vertical advertisement; and a CU co-branded Website brasscu.com that has a direct link to the credit union's Website. "A credit union can send home loan promotions but if young adults aren't thinking about homeownership then it will be glossed over. Statistics show that this generation gets 100-plus ads thrown at it at a time so we've gotten pretty good at tuning stuff out," said Sims. "However if that same young adult is reading an article that discusses the real pros and cons of buying versus renting and then they see that same home loan promotion a few pages away it will have more of an impact." Sims also says credit unions should never underestimate the power of word of mouth in this generation. For example, when looking for freelance writers Sims spoke with one contributor from North Carolina on a Monday by Friday of that same week Sims heard from three other writers interested in being part of the magazine from three different states. He now has some 100 freelance writers, across 17 states and five countries that Sims says represents some of the best minds this generation has to offer. "That is how it works with this generation things happen very quickly," said Sims. "This generation thinks its time is valuable and hates being talked down to or told how their life should or shouldn't be. We are a generation so determined to excel that failure simply is not an option but for the dreams to come true young adults have to have a solid understanding of how money works." This isn't Sims first venture in the financial arena. While attending Crescent Valley High School he launched the first teen initiated investment clubs in the state of Oregon. It is now one of the largest groups of teen investors in the country. In addition to having a passion to educate young adults about the importance of understanding money, Sims says his father getting laid off helped set plans for brass magazine into motion. "My dad has a PHD and about a month after September 11 he was laid off and he couldn't even get a job that paid $10 an hour. At the same time I was going to school and working part time and when I saw what my dad was going through at the age of 50 it was just very difficult. I knew that I wanted to offer something to young adults so they would have that back up financial plan in place to take care of themselves if ever there was an accident or some life altering event and from that we launched brass magazine," said Sims. For Sims the greatest challenge has been getting the start up capital. Considering that now is not the best time to raise money to launch a publication, Sims has already raised some $112,000 in cash and commitments. At press time Sims was also in talks with what may be his first credit union subscriber. "If you can do that and get by in the bad times, then when the economy gets better you've already proven yourself. It will be like a snowball effect once you've signed your first contract. There is a niche here that we can fill," said Sims. "And I'm excited about working with all these young adults who are set to be leaders in the next generation and seeing what they have to offer." As for Sims' father-he's been hired as COO by his son and Sims says working together has been a great experience. [email protected]