History
In August 2000, Utah was one of the top five states for bankruptcy and debt. Combined with a surge in home equity and credit card debt, many personal finance experts were concerned about the future economic prosperity of Utah's children.
In response to the increasing fragility of family budgets, local teachers, personal finance experts and community advocates established the Utah Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (UJ$C), a statewide, 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping youth understand financial concepts and decision making or financial literacy.
The mission of the UJ$C is as relevant as ever. Our work to improve the personal financial literacy of kindergarten through college-age youth is essential to our communities and national economy.
· Our work with the Utah State Legislature helped to establish the General Financial Literacy Course, a semester long personal finance class that is required for every graduating high school senior.
· Our annual $tart $mart Teacher Summit, is Utah’s go-to professional development training for Utah teachers working to integrate financial concepts into core curriculum.
· Our partnership with the Utah State Office of Education helped to launch Utah's Finance in the Classroom website, financeintheclassroom.org, which includes lesson plans, videos, games and more. This website receives over 800,000 hits per year.
· Our collaboration with the Utah Stock Market Game provides hundreds of students each year with the chance to connect to the global economy and learn about investing.
Yet, this is just the beginning. There is much more to do. The Utah Jump$tart Coalition continues to work to improve financial literacy and promote financial literacy resources in Utah schools, communities and homes.
Join Us!
If your organization is looking to make an impact in financial literacy education, please consider joining our Coalition.
