Financial literacy
Budgeting, saving, credit and banking basics that help young people and families build stability and plan for the future.
Programs · Economic Opportunity
Money skills and small businesses that build futures.
Money skills and small business creation help young people and families save, plan and earn on their own terms.
Budget
plan spending with confidence
Save
build habits that grow over time
Start
turn an idea into a real small business
2026 campaign
Young Founders Fund 2027
$2,500 goal · Be one of the first to give
Where the money goes
- Utah: 2 Dreamers Founder Academy cohorts (printing, prototype supplies and Demo Day, about $500 each)$1,000
- Seed support for Demo Day teams to launch their first small business$1,500
The need
Why it matters.
Refugee and immigrant families in Utah, and young people in rural Ghana and Kenya, often have the drive to succeed but not the money know-how, connections or capital to build savings or start a business.
“Our entrepreneurship program builds a pipeline toward self-sufficiency and small-business ownership.”Dreamers Wish Foundation
Our approach
What we do.
Small business creation
Coaching that helps aspiring entrepreneurs turn an idea into a real business: planning, pricing, marketing and access to capital, with a pitch to community reviewers.
Mentors who've done it
Business owners and volunteers share what they've learned, from keeping books to finding first customers.
School-run businesses
Ventures that teach students how a business works and help schools earn their own income: tailoring, farming and phone charging. Cassava processing: the cassava is planted. Poultry business: coming soon.
Dreamers Founder Academy Coming soon
A coming program for young founders: financial literacy, starting a small business, and land stewardship and asset building for community development.
Coming soon
Dreamers Founder Academy
Our next step in economic opportunity: a free 10-week entrepreneurship bootcamp where young dreamers go from spotting a problem in their community to pitching a real business idea on Demo Day.
- Starting and running a small business
- Financial literacy: budgeting, saving and credit
- Land stewardship and asset building
Status
Coming soon · Utah pilot planned for early 2027
Who
Ages 10–16 · Ghana and Kenya to follow
Now enrolling · Utah · Tuesdays 4–5 PM
Earn it. Grow it. Protect it. Build it.
A free 12-week financial literacy course at the Hartland Partnership Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesdays from 4 to 5 PM. Hands-on and taught by our partner, 1st Class Real Estate Renaissance. Students learn to earn, budget, save and avoid scams, then build and run their own KidBiz with a mentor.
Weeks 1–3Earn it
Needs and wants, earning money and banking basics.
Weeks 4–6Grow it
Budgeting, saving for goals and smart spending.
Weeks 7–8Protect it
Credit, borrowing, growing wealth and giving back.
Weeks 9–12Build it
Plan, brand and run a real KidBiz on Market Day.
Week by week
See the week-by-week plan
- Week 1Earn itMoney and meWhat money is, needs versus wants, and the choices families make every day. Each student sets a personal money goal.
- Week 2Earn itEarning moneyJobs, skills and side hustles, including the ones students already have. How a paycheck works, and what taxes pay for.
- Week 3Earn itBanking basicsChecking and savings accounts, debit cards, and how to keep money safe. Practice reading a bank statement.
- Week 4Grow itBuild a budgetPlan where every dollar goes with a simple budget, and track spending for one week.
- Week 5Grow itSave for your goalsEmergency funds, saving goals, and how interest helps savings grow, through a hands-on savings game.
- Week 6Grow itSmart spendingComparison shopping, how advertising works, and how to spot online scams and protect personal information.
- Week 7Protect itCredit and borrowingWhat credit is, how interest works, what a credit score means, and the difference between helpful and harmful debt.
- Week 8Protect itGrow and giveHow saving and investing build wealth over time, why risk matters, and how giving back strengthens a community.
- Week 9Build itFind your business ideaSpot a real need in your school or neighborhood, form KidBiz teams and choose a business idea.
- Week 10Build itPlan your businessStartup costs, pricing and profit. Each team writes a one-page business plan with a mentor.
- Week 11Build itBrand and pitchName the business, design a logo, write a pitch and practice making a sale.
- Week 12Build itKidBiz Market DayTeams run their businesses for a day, count their profit and decide what to save, spend and share. Graduation and certificates.
Who teaches it
Lessons are taught by our partner, 1st Class Real Estate Renaissance, real-world experts in money, property and small business.
The format
12 weeks, every Tuesday from 4 to 5 PM at the Hartland Partnership Center. Free for every student.
The KidBiz capstone
Teams build, run and operate a real small business with a mentor, then decide together what to save, spend and share.
Get involved
Work in finance, banking or business? Teach a lesson or mentor a KidBiz team.
Volunteer to teachJoin the class · Utah
Learn money skills with us.
Our free financial literacy class meets every Tuesday, 4–5 PM, at the Hartland Partnership Center in Salt Lake City.
- Free to join
- Tuesdays, 4–5 PM
- Hartland Partnership Center, Salt Lake City
- Taught by 1st Class Real Estate Renaissance
See you on Tuesday!
Thanks for signing up. We'll email you the details soon.
Coming soon · Dreamers Founder Academy
From a problem to a pitch in 10 weeks.
A free entrepreneurship bootcamp where young dreamers spot a problem in their community, build a real business idea and pitch it on Demo Day. It follows the same model as our robotics bootcamp: free, after school, 2 hours a week, hands-on, and taught by changemakers.
Weeks 1–3Dream it
Founder mindset, spotting real problems, design thinking and ideas.
Weeks 4–7Build it
A first prototype, pricing and profit, a business model and a brand.
Weeks 8–10Pitch it
Storytelling, rehearsal and a public Demo Day.
Week by week
See the week-by-week plan
- Week 1Dream itThink like a founderHear a real founder story, learn the 4Cs and form a team. Teams list 10 problems they see in their school or neighborhood.
- Week 2Dream itFall in love with the problemInterview real people about one problem and write a one-sentence problem statement.
- Week 3Dream itIdeas that could workGenerate 20+ ideas, then pick one that solves a real problem, can be built and that someone would pay for.
- Week 4Build itYour first prototypeBuild the smallest thing you can sell or test: paper, cardboard, a service or a tech prototype.
- Week 5Build itMoney: costs, prices and profitList startup costs, set a price, work out profit per sale and find break-even.
- Week 6Build itThe business model canvasMap customers, problem, solution, how to reach people, costs and revenue.
- Week 7Build itBrand and storyName the business, sketch a logo and write a one-line pitch, with a guest founder.
- Week 8Pitch itTell the storyBuild a 3-minute pitch: problem, solution, business and the ask.
- Week 9Pitch itRehearse and polishPractice under time and answer audience questions.
- Week 10Pitch itDemo DayPitch to families, donors and community partners. Every team is recognized.
Who it's for
Utah pilot: ages 10–16, immigrant and refugee youth in Salt Lake City, in teams of 3–4.
Next: a low-tech version for our partner schools in Ghana and Kenya, with services, farm and garden products and crafts.
Get involved
Are you a founder or business owner, especially with an immigrant or refugee background? Mentor a team or speak as a guest founder.
Mentor a founderLearning together · Utah & the village
Classes that feel like a celebration.
Our workshops bring people together, in a meeting room in Utah or under the trees in a Ghanaian village. Neighbors, parents and young people learn side by side, ask questions out loud and leave with a plan.
What your gift does
Choose your impact.
Real costs from our 2026 program budget. Every gift is tax-deductible, and Zeffy charges us no fees.
Utah
A free financial literacy class, Tuesdays 4–5 PM at the Hartland Partnership Center in Salt Lake City, plus entrepreneurship for refugee and immigrant youth and families.
Ghana
Money skills and school-run businesses, like farming, that help schools earn their own income.
Kenya
Income-generating school projects and small business skills.
$500runs one Founder Academy cohort for 20–30 young dreamersGive $500 $1,500gives seed support to Demo Day teams launching a small businessGive $1,500 Any amountfunds financial literacy workshops and small business coachingAny amount with us MentorShare your business or finance experience with a young founderMentor with us PartnerSponsor a pitch event or seed support for new businessesPartner with us
Explore our other programs