Teen Finance Lab

A new financial literacy program launching this fall in partnership with Bank of Utah, bringing practical money skills directly to Utah's Teen Centers.

Building lifelong financial skills for Utah teens

Teen Finance Lab is a trauma-informed financial literacy and life skills program built specifically for Utah's Teen Centers, delivered through a partnership between Bank of Utah and The Policy Project. Six standalone skill sessions run one per month across the school year, giving any student who visits their Teen Center practical money skills they can use right away, no matter when they join or how often they attend.

Why This Program?

Many teens enter adulthood without the financial knowledge needed to confidently manage money, avoid debt, prepare for employment, or pursue higher education. Teen Centers are uniquely positioned to help fill this gap, offering practical life skills in a trusted environment open to any student who walks through the door. The curriculum was shaped directly by Teen Center staff and district leaders through a six-month Educator Advisory Board process with Bank of Utah representatives, so it fits how centers actually operate: flexible scheduling, minimal staff prep, and ready-to-use materials.

How It Works

All participating centers follow the same monthly skill calendar, so Bank of Utah touchpoints and program milestones line up statewide, but each center chooses when within the month to deliver its sessions, on whatever schedule fits its students. Students can join at any point in the year; the session design means there's no prerequisite and no re-start required, any session a student attends adds something useful.

6

financial literacy life skills

24

sessions over 6 months

45

minute session max

A Championship Partnership

The Bank of Utah Championship is about more than golf. Backed by championship impact funding, Bank of Utah partnered with The Policy Project to launch Teen Finance Lab, bringing real financial skills into the trusted spaces where Utah teens already turn for support.

Teen Centers serve thousands of students navigating housing instability and economic hardship, and this partnership builds directly on that foundation: real tools like budgeting, saving, and financial decision-making, delivered by a program rooted in the PGA TOUR's own commitment to lasting community impact. It's a partnership built to reach well beyond the fairway, and into the lives of the students who need it most.

The Six Skills

1. The Absolute Basics: Vital IDs, a safe address, emergency help, money habitudes

2. Financial Foundations: Budgeting, understanding a paycheck, banking and safe account choices, saving toward a goal

3. Smart Spending: Needs vs. wants under pressure, comparison shopping, consumer protection and scam defense, credit and debt

4. Independent Living: The real cost of living, renting, take-home pay and tax basics, your safety net

5. Work & Career Pathway: Strengths and pathways, a resume that gets read, networking, the interview

6. Financial Empowerment: Future-self goals, self-assessment, your money story, stop-think-choose

After Teen Center services were introduced at a rural high school, the graduation rate increased by 36%.

What’s Provided

Participating Teen Centers aren't expected to build this program on their own. Every center receives:

  • A complete, facilitator-ready curriculum, fully developed and tested through a six-month advisory process

  • Student activities, handouts, and presentation materials

  • Program tracking and evaluation tools

  • Ongoing implementation support and a monthly office hour

  • Volunteer co-facilitators from Bank of Utah and The Policy Project's Impact Team for select sessions

  • Funding for each participating Teen Center, covering program supplies, food, and a facilitator stipend

For Facilitators

Facilitators delivering Teen Finance Lab can find the full curriculum, session-by-session guides, and program resources in the Teen Finance Lab course.

COMING SOON!