What Take Charge Today does

Take Charge Today is a university-based financial education outreach program founded in 2001 and operated by the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom within the Office of the Provost at the University of Arizona. The program provides free, ready-to-teach personal finance curriculum to middle and high school educators (grades 7–12) across the United States, organized into eight thematic units covering financial well-being, managing money, earning, receiving, saving and investing, spending and borrowing, distribution of wealth, and entrepreneurship. Its core product is a Lesson Plans Library of 162 field-tested lessons offered at Introductory (grades 7–9) and Advanced (grades 10–12) levels, supported by active learning tools, service learning projects, assessments and test banks, course guides spanning 2-week to year-long formats, webinars, and educator training.

The underlying platform is a web-based delivery system with a member dashboard, distributing curriculum through interactive PDF documents, Google Slides, and PowerPoint presentations. The curriculum is aligned to national standards (Personal Financial Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Business Education, and Common Core ELA) and is developed, tested, and edited through a National Master Educator program and State Training Team network of working classroom educators. All materials are copyrighted by the University of Arizona. The program has reached over 40,000 educators nationwide and an estimated 750,000 students annually, with a major website redesign and platform migration completed in August 2026.

The business model is freemium in the strict sense of providing complete access at no cost; Take Charge Today does not generate revenue. It is funded through grants (historically by Take Charge America, Inc. from 2001–2015), donations via the University of Arizona Foundation, and support from the University of Arizona. Distribution is exclusively digital via the takechargetoday.arizona.edu website, with outreach reinforced through national and regional education conferences (ACTE, CEE, CACTE, OATFACS, WA-ACTE), webinars, newsletters, and strategic partnerships with Intuit Education, the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Arizona Council on Economic Education.

Name

Take Charge Today

Legal name

Take Charge Today

Website

https://takechargetoday.arizona.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Take Charge Today is a University of Arizona outreach program that provides free, standards-aligned personal finance curriculum and educator training to over 40,000 middle and high school teachers, reaching approximately 750,000 students annually across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Education Curriculum

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Personal Finance & Financial Literacy for Students (EDAMAIAH), Digital Teaching Resources & Lesson Plan Libraries (EDAGAEAK), Teacher-Led Digital Lesson Packages & Instructional Resources (EDAFACAL)

Keywords

• Financial education curriculum
• Personal finance resources
• Classroom lesson plans
• Educator professional development
• Youth financial literacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Tucson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free Educational Resources: Take Charge Today provides all curriculum materials free of charge to educators. The program is a university-based financial education outreach program housed within the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom at the University of Arizona. Funding comes from grants, donations, and partnerships rather than product revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Take Charge Today provides a free, ready-to-teach, activity-based personal finance curriculum to middle and high school educators (Grades 7-12), comprising over 100 modular lesson plans across eight thematic units, supported by active learning tools, service learning projects, assessments, course guides, webinars, and educator training. All materials are delivered digitally through a web-based member dashboard at no cost to educators, and the program is funded by grants, donations, and university support.

Product overview

Take Charge Today is a university-based financial education outreach program housed at the University of Arizona's Center for the Philosophy of Freedom. The platform provides a comprehensive, modular curriculum with over 100 free, ready-to-teach lesson plans for 7th through 12th grade educators. The core offering consists of a Lesson Plans Library organized into eight curriculum units (Financial Well-Being, Managing Money, Earning, Receiving, Saving/Investing, Spending/Borrowing, Distribution of Wealth, and Entrepreneurship), available at Introductory and Advanced levels. Supporting products include Active Learning Tools (escape rooms, games, movie-based activities), Service Learning Projects, Assessments and Test Banks, Course Guides (ranging from 2-week to year-long courses), Webinars and Recordings, Educator Training programs, and specialized offerings like the Lawn Boy Library (book loan program), Entrepreneurship Summer Academy, and Invest in Girls Program. Materials are accessible via interactive PDFs and Google Slides. The curriculum serves over 40,000 educators nationwide and reaches approximately 750,000 students annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Finance Lesson Plans Library A free library of over 100 modular lesson plans for middle and high school educators covering personal finance topics including earning, saving, investing, spending, borrowing, budgeting, and financial decision-making. Each lesson includes hands-on activities, note-taking guides, worksheets, student readings, PowerPoint presentations, and assessments.
• Active Learning Tools A collection of gamified and activity-based learning resources for Grades 7-12 that reinforce personal finance concepts through escape rooms, board games, card games, vocabulary exercises, movie-based lessons, and interactive games.
• Service Learning Projects Service learning lesson plans that combine personal finance instruction with outreach projects such as peer clinics, charitable campaigns, and educational presentations for peers, family members, and the wider community.
• Assessments and Test Banks Assessment tools including pre- and post-tests, multiple choice test banks, spending plan simulations, and project-based unit assessments for the Take Charge Today personal finance curriculum units.
• Course Guides Recommended teaching order guides for various course lengths (2-week, 9-week, semester, and year-long) at both Introductory and Advanced levels to help educators structure a complete personal finance course from the lesson library.
• Educator Training Programs In-person and online professional development opportunities for educators, including state trainings, peer-led workshops, and comprehensive support for implementing the Take Charge Today financial education curriculum.
• Webinars and Recordings On-demand professional development webinars featuring financial education experts, scholars, and classroom educators covering trends in personal finance and curriculum implementation.
• Lawn Boy Library Classroom sets of the Lawn Boy trade book by Gary Paulsen available for loan to educators teaching the Investing with Lawn Boy lesson plan or accompanying service learning project.
• Entrepreneurship Summer Academy A summer program supporting hands-on financial education and entrepreneurship for high school students, delivered in partnership with the Freedom Center and the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.
• Invest in Girls Program A financial literacy and career exploration program for young women delivered with the Freedom Center and Arizona Council on Economic Education, building investment knowledge and connecting students with women in finance.
• Interactive PDF and Google Slides Student Materials Digital student workbook pages delivered as interactive PDFs with fillable text boxes and as Google Slides with interactive fields, supporting both print and paperless classroom use of the Take Charge Today curriculum.
• Curriculum Units (Eight-Unit Framework) A structured eight-unit personal finance curriculum framework covering Financial Well-Being, Managing Your Money, Earning, Receiving, Saving and Investing, Spending and Borrowing, Distribution of Wealth, and Entrepreneurship.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Center for the Philosophy of FreedomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Take Charge Today program is housed within the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom under the Office of the Provost at the University of Arizona. This is the program's home institution providing administrative and academic support.
• Intuit EducationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerTake Charge Today partnered with Intuit Education to create scenarios to use with Intuit's popular finance app, Mint, but in a fictional environment. Resources for teaching taxes provided by Intuit for Education.
• McGuire Center for EntrepreneurshipsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Entrepreneurship Summer Academy program, supporting hands-on financial education and entrepreneurship for high school students alongside the Freedom Center.
• Arizona Council on Economic EducationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Invest in Girls program, which supports financial literacy and career exploration for young women in partnership with the Freedom Center.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Next Gen Personal Finance: Non-profit providing free personal finance curriculum, lesson plans, and professional development to K-12 educators; competes head-to-head with Take Charge Today for the same middle and high school teacher audience.
• EVERFI: Digital financial literacy and life skills curriculum for K-12 students, often sponsored by banks and corporations; directly competes with TCT in school-channel adoption with a more software-led delivery model.
• FoolProof: Free, standards-aligned personal finance curriculum for K-12 educators and students; similar freemium, teacher-led distribution model and comparable target customer (middle/high school teachers).

Others

• Take Charge America: Non-profit credit counseling and debt management organization that historically funded Take Charge Today (2001-2015); comparable personal finance mission and overlapping end-borrower audience, but a funder/supporter rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Money Smart (FDIC): Federal financial education curriculum for youth and adults; comparable free, standards-aligned curriculum targeting educators and students in the personal finance subject area.
• Junior Achievement USA: Long-standing K-12 financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship education provider; broader scope than TCT and a major incumbent in the same teacher/school buyer segment.
• Council for Economic Education (CEE): National umbrella that sets K-12 economic and personal finance standards and runs teacher training/conferences; both a peer and a partner ecosystem in which TCT operates and presents.

Emerging players

• Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace for Schools: Personal finance curriculum from Ramsey Solutions targeting high school students; competes for the same teacher adoption and student curriculum hours, with a strong brand and large digital funnel.
• Visa Practical Money Skills: Corporate-sponsored free personal finance resources for educators, parents, and students; comparable free distribution model and overlapping personal finance subject matter.
• Budget Challenge: Online personal finance simulation used by high school teachers; competing for the same teacher adoption slot with a more simulation- and software-driven delivery model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UA_TCToday
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UATakeChargeToday
• Facebookfacebook.com/UATakeChargeToday
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/take-charge-today

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Take Charge Today