Building Financial Awareness Among Kids

Mini Money Management is an app that combines classroom management and financial literacy using a classroom-based economy. Students are provided with a salary and charged for a variety of tasks. Founder Lorne Jenkins says “We give them real-world situations that they can use.”

Lorne first engaged with EforAll when he applied for the first-ever EforAll Longmont Pitch Contest. “I applied a week before the deadline and won first place!”  According to Lorne,  this Pitch Contest was the first time he had told anyone other than his family about Mini Money Management.  He says “it was nerve-wracking but the confidence it gave me, to see that the idea was validated, was invaluable.”

Lorne then went on to apply to the free one-year Accelerator Program. “One of the most important classes for me was Value Proposition, honing in on what the actual service you’re providing is.”

The week before the COVID-19 related school closures,  Lorne had just completed a pilot program with teachers.  He quickly shifted existing technology to develop a home version of the product that catered to parents who were now struggling to find educational things to do with their kids. This home version lets parents set monthly bills, like rent, and determine how much the child’s salary is. On the flip side, students have a checking and savings account to make purchases, and are able to apply for loans. He credits EforAll with helping them adapt saying  “ EforAll gave us the confidence and the knowledge to be able to pivot.”