Moneythink is a White-House-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing financial education and peer-mentorship to urban 11th- and 12th- graders in the United States. Its unique model uses customized curricula and college volunteers to make financial decision-making and career planning practical, relevant, and fun for urban high school students entering the real world. The organization leverages the resources on college campuses to train college students as mentors for local youth, placing these college students into local high school classrooms.
Founded by University of Chicago students in 2009 as a small student club, Moneythink has expanded to become a national movement, with chapters at 18 colleges and universities across the nation.
Combining peer-mentorship & financial education to expand economic opportunity for urban youth
By June 2012, with under $15,000, operated entirely by student volunteers, Moneythink had:
Reached more than 3,000 urban high Built a partner network in 14 cities, at 17 school students university chapters, with 32 high schools, and with organizations such as Teach for Launched six student companies America, Junior Achievement, & The Measured 2x improvement in students’ Kauffman Foundation financial knowledge and confidence Been featured in Forbes, CBS, MSN, Reached more than 2 million people in Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, less than six days through White House The Chronicle of Higher Education, social media campaign NPR, CNN, GOOD Magazine, the White House blog, The Bleacher Developed two 10-week curricula Report, and MTV (Financial Life Skills & Entrepreneurship)
How we establish a chapter
1 Identify talented, passionate college 3 Build open communication channels to leaders interested in starting a chapter chapter leaders via Skype, online groups, and in-person campus visits 2 Train chapter leaders in marketing, recruiting, and training procedures to 4 Provide college volunteers with build a cadre of top college students to educational resources such as curricula and serve as volunteers best teaching practices to prepare college students to teach high school classes Value for student volunteers
Give back to the community Network with college volunteers across Build relationships with business leaders the nation and faculty members Develop leadership skills
Current chapters
University of Chicago Washington University, St. Louis University of Florida Columbia University Stanford University University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Northwestern University Chapman University University of Mississippi Claremont College Princeton University University of North Carolina Rice University University of California, Los Angeles University of Southern California Seattle University University of California, San Diego Vanderbilt University
moneythink.org