Arizona Council Economic Education Thunderbirds Charities

Transformational Partnership to Provide Quality Financial and Economic Education for Arizona Children

Thunderbirds Charities and the Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE) are partnering to provide innovative and expedient financial and economic education solutions for Arizona students and teachers. A recent $50,000 grant from Thunderbirds Charities will help ACEE reach 300 schools and 75,000 K-12 students, many of whom are from low to moderate income families and rural communities.

The global pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for families, students and teachers. Underserved communities are bearing an unequal share of the loss of income, food, education and health. Surviving and thriving through this pandemic will depend on individuals’ level of debt, emergency savings and financial literacy.

The grant will enable ACEE to offer more support to underserved communities. ACEE’s program offers both on-demand and real-time synchronous digital learning resources. It will train 500 teachers to use new education technology tools to engage their students in online, in-person and hybrid learning environments. The resources will be the first to align with the new Arizona economics and personal finance standards, and social and emotional learning requirements.



“With the continued support from Thunderbirds Charities, ACEE is prepared to support schools, children and families to achieve economic equity and social justice through financial and economic education,” said Elena Zee, ACEE President and CEO. “Teachers are telling us: you have given our students something to look forward to when everything else has been canceled on them. ACEE’s teaching methods promote connections between students, teachers and parents, which is always important, but even more so during what can feel like an isolated time due to social distancing.”

Arizona Council on Economic Education

This grant is part of the Fall 2020 cycle. View a list of all Recent Grantees.