Ascend Youth InitiativeAscend Youth Initiative
AscendMoney Confidence Program

Money Confidence series curriculum

Three progressive phases with four practical sessions each

Designed for youth and young adults ages 16–26, the program is organized into three phases. Each phase contains four sessions. Participants may join one phase, multiple phases, or the complete series; schedules, sequence and delivery formats are confirmed for each approved offering. Every session uses peer learning, guided practice, realistic scenarios, and one manageable take-home action.

Consistent learning model

How Every Session Is Structured

Each session follows a consistent learning structure so participants understand the purpose of the lesson, practice the concept, apply it to a realistic situation, and leave with one manageable action to complete.

  1. A

    Connect

    A short opening question, reflection, or relatable scenario that connects the topic to participants’ everyday experiences.

  2. B

    Learn

    A plain-language explanation of the essential concepts, terminology, and responsible practices connected to the topic.

  3. C

    Practice

    A guided activity, calculation, comparison, role-play, or decision-making exercise completed individually or in small groups.

  4. D

    Apply

    A realistic scenario that allows participants to use what they learned without requiring them to disclose private financial information.

  5. E

    Act

    One practical take-home action participants can complete before the next session.

  6. F

    Reflect

    A brief knowledge check and confidence question used to reinforce learning and help evaluate the pilot.

Intended pilot outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

These are intended outcomes of the pilot, not guaranteed results. By the end of the program, participants should be able to:

  • Explain how personal experiences, values, and habits influence financial decisions.
  • Distinguish between income, fixed expenses, flexible expenses, needs, wants, and financial responsibilities.
  • Track income and spending using a simple method.
  • Build and revise a practical personal spending plan.
  • Compare checking and savings accounts, common fees, and basic banking features.
  • Establish an achievable savings goal and an emergency-preparedness strategy.
  • Break a short- or long-term goal into manageable set-aside amounts.
  • Explain the basic purpose of credit reports, credit scores, interest, APR, and minimum payments.
  • Compare borrowing options and identify high-cost or potentially harmful financial products.
  • Recognize common scams, pressure tactics, and guaranteed-return claims.
  • Explain compound growth, risk, diversification, time horizons, and fees in general, product-neutral terms.
  • Identify marketable skills and apply basic pricing principles.
  • Use simple records to organize small-venture income and expenses.
  • Recognize basic tax, documentation, account-security, and fraud-protection responsibilities.
  • Complete a personal 90-day financial action plan.

Complete session framework

Explore the phases and sessions

Open any session to review its public session overview, topic, and expected duration. Complete lesson plans, activities, facilitator guidance, and participant materials are available only to authorized facilitators.

Build awareness of money habits, income, spending, planning, and essential banking tools.

Participants explore how experiences, values, and habits shape everyday money choices. The session introduces the difference between needs, wants, and responsibilities and ends with a personal learning goal.

Duration: 90 minutes

Complete lesson plans, activities, facilitator guidance, and participant materials are available only to authorized facilitators.

Pilot evaluation

How Learning Will Be Measured

Pre-program assessment

  • Baseline financial-knowledge questions
  • Participant confidence ratings
  • Current financial-practice questions
  • Personal learning priorities

Session checks

  • Three to five short knowledge questions
  • One practical application activity
  • One confidence-reflection question
  • Take-home action completion check

Post-program assessment

  • Repeat selected baseline questions
  • Measure change in knowledge and confidence
  • Review completion of the 90-day action plan
  • Collect participant feedback on relevance, clarity, and facilitation

Optional follow-up

  • 90-day participant check-in
  • Quarterly follow-up for up to one year
  • Voluntary questions about which practices participants continued
  • No collection of bank credentials, Social Security numbers, account numbers, or unnecessary financial details

Assessment information is used to improve the program and understand participant learning. It is not used to provide a credit score, financial rating, investment recommendation, or eligibility decision.

Planned resources

Participant Materials

Materials for the complete program are planned but are not yet available for download.

  • Participant workbookIn development
  • Personal financial-goals worksheetIn development
  • Spending trackerIn development
  • Monthly spending-plan templateIn development
  • Bank-account comparison worksheetIn development
  • Savings and emergency-preparedness plannerIn development
  • Set-aside fund worksheetIn development
  • Credit and borrowing comparison worksheetIn development
  • Debt-prioritization worksheetIn development
  • Financial scam and red-flag checklistIn development
  • Compound-growth learning activityIn development
  • Skills and pricing worksheetIn development
  • Simple invoice templateIn development
  • Small-venture income and expense trackerIn development
  • Financial-records checklistIn development
  • 90-day financial action planIn development
  • Pre-program and post-program assessmentsIn development

Educational boundaries

Facilitator Standards

Facilitators are expected to:

  • Use the approved curriculum and educational materials.
  • Present information in plain, respectful, and judgment-free language.
  • Avoid asking participants to publicly disclose income, debt, account balances, credit scores, immigration status, or other sensitive information.
  • Avoid recommending specific financial products, financial institutions, securities, tax positions, or investment strategies.
  • Distinguish general financial education from individualized professional advice.
  • Use inclusive examples that reflect different income levels, family structures, education pathways, and employment situations.
  • Follow safeguarding and reporting procedures when working with minors.
  • Refer questions requiring licensed financial, tax, investment, legal, or mental-health expertise to an appropriately qualified professional.
  • Record attendance and assessment completion without collecting unnecessary sensitive information.
  • Report conflicts of interest and avoid sales or recruitment activity during program sessions.

Participant safety and privacy

Learning Without Financial Disclosure

Participants may use fictional figures, sample scenarios, or private worksheets during activities. No participant is required to disclose personal income, debt, bank balances, credit scores, account information, immigration status, or family financial circumstances to the group.

  • A participant may decline to answer a discussion question.
  • Personal worksheets are not collected unless clearly identified and consented to.
  • Group discussions should remain respectful and confidential.
  • Facilitators should not photograph completed financial worksheets.
  • Minor participation requires separate parent or guardian consent.
  • Media consent must remain separate from program-participation consent.

Proposed completion standards

Attendance and Completion

  • Completion expectations are based on the participant’s approved phase or series. Participants should attend the required sessions for the phase or series in which they are enrolled. Specific attendance and completion requirements will be communicated for each confirmed offering.
  • Completion recognition corresponds to what the participant completed: Phase 1 completion, Phase 2 completion, Phase 3 completion, or the complete three-phase series. Completing one phase is not the same as completing the full series.
  • Missed-session summaries may be provided when available.
  • Completion recognition should reflect participation and learning activities, not professional certification.
  • A certificate of participation may be provided, but it must not be described as a financial qualification, license, credential, or academic credit.
  • Participants should complete the pre-program assessment, post-program assessment, and 90-day action plan that apply to their phase or series to receive completion recognition.
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Interested in the Money Confidence series?

Schedules, locations, formats, and cohort capacity are confirmed separately for each approved offering.

Register Your InterestSee Program Format