Moneythink is an American educational

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

aiming to increase American youth's financial capability of American youth by training college volunteers to serve as financial mentors for low-income high school students. Moneythink's curriculum involves the use of a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

to help students demonstrate their financial skills. The program also offers pre-professional activities for students to engage in, including business pitching competitions,

job shadow Job shadowing (or work shadowing) is a type of on-the-job learning. It may be a part of an onboarding process, or part of a career or leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals t ...

s, and visits to professional workplaces.

History

Moneythink began as a student organization at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 2009. Initially named the American Investment Fellows, the club was founded by students Ted Gonder, Greg Nance, Shashin Chokshi, Morgan Hartley, and David Chen. The group's aim was to help the

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtow ...

community in the wake of the economic collapse by recruiting, training, and placing undergraduate economics majors in local inner-city 11th and 12th-grade classrooms to teach financial literacy workshops. In the fall of 2009, student-leaders at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, and other universities across the US began to work with the Chicago chapter and started identical clubs on their own campuses. Between the spring of 2010 and the fall of 2011 the concept spread to 24 campus communities nationwide. During this time, the campuses aligned under the collective name Moneythink and took on hundreds of volunteer mentors. Moneythink incubated at the

Kauffman Foundation The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kauffman Foundation) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, private foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1966 by Ewing Marion Kauffman, who had previously founded the drug company Ma ...

, where Ted Gonder professionalized the organization, and eventually gained official 501(c)( 3) non-profit status. In 2011, Moneythink named Gonder their chief executive officer and brought on board a full-time staff. In 2012, Moneythink received the White House Champions of Change award and set the goal of achieving mainstream financial capability among American youth by 2030. In the winter of that same year, the organization's logo was featured on the

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billboard in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. In 2013, Moneythink collaborated with

IDEO IDEO () is a design firm, design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 500 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environmen ...

to develop a mobile app to be used in classrooms along with the Financial Capability Curriculum. In 2014, the app officially launched for use in participating classrooms.

Reach

Moneythink programs currently operate at 31 universities across the United States. The organization consists of over 600 student mentors and claims to have reached over 6,000 students.

Recognition

* 2020 Capital One Nonprofit Give Back Partner of the Year * 2019 Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund Finalist * 2013 winner of the State Farm Neighborhood Assist grant. * 2013 MassChallenge winner. * 2012 winner of Chicago Innovation Awards Up-and-Comer Award. * 2012 finalist in the

Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (branded as Chicago Booth) is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of the University of Chicago, a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in ...

Social New Venture Challenge. * 2012 winner of the White House's Champions of Change Campus Challenge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moneythink Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Non-profit organizations based in California Higher education in the United States 501(c)(3) organizations