Frequently Asked Questions

The Money Club.Org exists to teach young people how economics and money actually work through practical experience and radical transparency. We are not structured to maximize profit or extract value from families. Program revenue goes back into running the program itself — including University of Toronto student mentor wages, space, insurance, and student project materials.

Our mission is educational and community-based: to help young people understand how money moves, while also creating meaningful paid opportunities for University of Toronto students to teach, mentor, and lead.

The program is designed for students ages 10–16.

This age range works well because students are ready to explore real ideas — building projects, testing concepts, and presenting their thinking — while still benefiting from a structured environment.

Located at the UTSU Student Commons near the University of Toronto.

It’s an accessible location for families across the city and provides a university-style learning environment.

Session 1: July 6–31

Session 2: August 4–28

The program runs Monday–Friday from 9-5, with instruction from 9:30am to 3:30pm.

Each day includes instructor sessions, project work, team collaboration, and time for students to build and test their ideas.

Students work through guided build sprints, not passive classroom activities.

They might research a real problem, use AI to generate and improve ideas, build a simple app or prototype, interview potential users, test pricing, create branding or marketing materials, and present what they learned.

The goal is to help students think clearly, make things, test them in the real world, and improve them based on evidence.

View the curriculum to see how the program is organized.

AI is used as a tool — not as a substitute for thinking.

Students may use AI to research ideas, explore markets, generate names or draft copy, organize information, and help build simple prototypes or app concepts more quickly. But the real focus is on judgment: what to make, why it matters, what people value, and how to improve an idea based on feedback.

We want students to understand that AI can speed up execution, but it does not replace taste, decision-making, or clear thinking.

It overlaps with STEM, but the focus is broader: students use AI and product thinking to decide what to build, why it matters, and whether it works in the real world.

Many STEM camps teach students how to build technology.

This program focuses on what to build and why — identifying real problems, understanding demand, and designing ideas that people actually want.

Students who already enjoy coding or robotics often find this perspective especially valuable.

Sessions are intentionally kept small so students receive meaningful attention from instructors and have time to develop their ideas.

Cohorts consist of 10 students to 1 instructor

Students also work in small teams during projects.

The Money Club.Org operates as a lean nonprofit startup, so we are not able to offer refunds. Each registration directly supports the costs required to run the program, including University of Toronto student mentors, space, materials, and operations.

We share this openly as part of our transparent model. If a session does not run, families will be notified and any payments made for that session will be refunded.

The program ends with a live Maker Market, where students present what they built and see what other participants actually choose, support, or spend virtual cash on.

Students explain what they built, how they tested their idea, and what they learned during the program.

It’s often the highlight of the four weeks.

Students bring their own lunch each day. Students should also bring a water bottle.

Students who tend to enjoy the program most are curious, creative, and like asking “how does this actually work?”

It works especially well for students who enjoy building things, exploring ideas, using technology creatively, and figuring out why some ideas work better than others.

Many students enjoy the program because it treats them like thoughtful problem-solvers. They explore how markets work, how businesses start, and how small decisions can shape real outcomes.