Parent Council Funding Letter

To [Parent Council]

[Date]

RE Purchasing access to a 10-week Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurial program called Youthrive.

Dear [name]:

I’m considering using a new online platform called Youthrive in my classroom to engage my students in an experientially based financial literacy and entrepreneurial education program.

First some background:

For over a decade, students at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business have fanned out across schools in the Windsor-Essex region, delivering a highly experiential, financial literacy and entrepreneurship program to secondary students. Called Youthrive, this award-winning social enterprise program has been highly received.

Now these business students are fanning out across Ontario, bringing the same financial literacy and entrepreneurship program VIRTUALLY to secondary students across the province. The student organization, called Enactus Windsor, is a part of the Enactus movement -- 37,000 entrepreneurial, value-driven post-secondary students across 2,000 campuses in 33 countries world-wide, focused on creating social enterprises that positively impact over 11 million people each year.

The goal of Enactus Windsor’s Youthrive platform is to reduce poverty in Ontario by providing secondary students the opportunity to create their own micro-business and participate in exciting province-wide competitions. By best estimates, 40% of the Canadian adult population lacks, and is projected to continue to lack, the basic and essential skills needed to function in today’s economy. This contributes to poverty, un-and under-employment and crime. In a rapidly changing economy, we need entrepreneurs and financially savvy Canadians more than ever.

As such, the Youthrive program:

  • Is professionally aligned with the Ontario curriculum, supporting Business Studies Grades 9-12 and Interdisciplinary Studies Grades 11-12 (to learn more about their curriculum connections, click here or visit https://enactusyouthrive.ca/curriculum-connections-link).

  • Is delivered in a peer-to-peer format over a ten-week curriculum that includes business theory merged with the opportunity to launch an entrepreneurial start-up, including the development of a unique, eco-friendly and socially conscious product/service.

  • Is taught virtually by engaging post-secondary business students from the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business, providing an exciting and unique educational opportunity.

  • Is completely self-contained. This turnkey, professional learning opportunity comes with its own learning objectives, curriculum connections, rubrics and 10 hours of learning material delivered by the Youthrive Mentors.

  • Promotes highly explicit and self-reflective learning opportunities through weekly journaling while promoting equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity (EDII) in business using a variety of examples and business concepts.

  • Equips students with presentation, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills, financial literacy acumen and the creativity capacity to realize their own micro-business. 

  • Includes the opportunity to compete with schools across the Province of Ontario to win prizes, fame, and glory at the virtual YouthX (as well as gain valuable feedback from business professionals).

  • And most importantly, Youthrive is 100% secure. The Youtopia Learning Management System is protected behind a secure, encrypted paywall and no student personal information is ever collected. To ensure all this, they’ve partnered with Toronto-based Altairix. Founded in 2007, Altairix Inc. develops custom, high-speed, cloud-based software solutions. With deep experience in education, financial and mobile industries they’ve worked closely with us to envision and implement Youtopia, helping us tackle real-world problems like poverty.

And finally, Youthrive’s goal is to help implement the UN 17 Sustainability Goals – it’s why they named their LMS “Youtopia”. Specifically, this education program tackles Goal #1 – No Poverty. But it doesn’t end there. By helping to reduce poverty, Youthrive is also reducing hunger (#2), helping to increase health and well-being (#3), promoting quality education (#4) and decent work and economic growth (#8). Their curriculum has equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity components built into it, promoting gender equality (#5) and reducing inequalities (#10) when it comes to financial literacy and entrepreneurial education. And the program teaches students how to create “green, socially responsible” products and services, promoting responsible production and consumption (#12), and they’ve partnered with the Odette School of Business (University of Windsor) and Altairix to achieve all this (#17).

Now for the “ask”

A one-term subscription to the 10-week Youthrive is very affordable ($400). When you consider this includes 10-weeks of virtual mentoring by a post-secondary business student, it’s very reasonably priced.

And right now (for winter/spring 2023) they’re offering a discount of $150 off. This means we can get Youthrive for only $250, which is an incredible deal. 

As such, I’m asking that our parent council considers funding this worthwhile program in my business class. I’ve been in touch with the Youthrive administration team at the University of Windsor and they’re provided me with a virtual tour of the Youthrive platform. It’s very impressive.

Thank you for your consideration of this. As the program is slated to start Feb 2023, I hope to hear back from you soon.

All the best;


[Your name]