Financial Literacy Curriculum
The challenge
Following the merger of Sterling National Bank and Webster Bank, the Office of Corporate Responsibility wanted to reimagine and modernize the organization’s financial literacy program.
Both legacy organizations had existing financial-literacy materials, but the resources were inconsistent, dated, and in some cases relied on vendor-created content that could not be freely reused or adapted. The organization wanted to bring the program’s learning content in-house and create a cohesive curriculum that could support its expanding community outreach efforts.
The challenge went beyond refreshing the visual design.
The program served external community audiences, not the internal employees I had traditionally designed training for.
That meant the curriculum needed to address a remarkably broad range of learners and circumstances.
A banking-fundamentals topic, for example, might need versions for:
Elementary school students
Middle school students
High school students
Adults
And “adult learner” did not necessarily mean someone who already understood basic banking concepts. Some participants were encountering financial independence for the first time after leaving an abusive relationship, experiencing divorce, returning from incarceration, or otherwise taking responsibility for their finances for the first time.
The curriculum therefore needed to be accessible, age-appropriate, relevant, and respectful of very different life experiences.
At the same time, the Office of Corporate Responsibility wanted to expand the curriculum with timely topics such as elder financial abuse and scams, while also incorporating relevant consumer and small-business financial education.
The goal was to create a program that was current, cohesive, recognizable, and sustainable.
Following the merger of Sterling National Bank and Webster Bank, the Office of Corporate Responsibility wanted to reimagine and modernize the organization’s financial literacy program.
Both legacy organizations had existing financial-literacy materials, but the resources were inconsistent, dated, and in some cases relied on vendor-created content that could not be freely reused or adapted. The organization wanted to bring the program’s learning content in-house and create a cohesive curriculum that could support its expanding community outreach efforts.
The challenge went beyond refreshing the visual design.
The program served external community audiences, not the internal employees I had traditionally designed training for.
That meant the curriculum needed to address a remarkably broad range of learners and circumstances.
A banking-fundamentals topic, for example, might need versions for:
Elementary school students
Middle school students
High school students
Adults
And “adult learner” did not necessarily mean someone who already understood basic banking concepts. Some participants were encountering financial independence for the first time after leaving an abusive relationship, experiencing divorce, returning from incarceration, or otherwise taking responsibility for their finances for the first time.
The curriculum therefore needed to be accessible, age-appropriate, relevant, and respectful of very different life experiences.
At the same time, the Office of Corporate Responsibility wanted to expand the curriculum with timely topics such as elder financial abuse and scams, while also incorporating relevant consumer and small-business financial education.
The goal was to create a program that was current, cohesive, recognizable, and sustainable.
My Role
This project was intentionally assigned to me as a team-of-one initiative.
The executive leading the Office of Corporate Responsibility specifically selected me to reimagine the program based on my previous work with the organization and her confidence in my instructional-design expertise.
I owned the project from beginning to end. My responsibilities included:
Project management
Stakeholder engagement
Curriculum review and redesign
Audience analysis
Topic identification and prioritization
Instructional design
Visual design and branding
PowerPoint development
Animation
Facilitator/speaker notes
Script development
Content updates
Annual curriculum review coordination
Stakeholder communication and alignment
I worked directly with the Office of Corporate Responsibility and its designated point of contact.
The business owned the subject-matter content and regulatory/community requirements; I translated those requirements into a cohesive learning experience and curriculum structure.
This project was intentionally assigned to me as a team-of-one initiative.
The executive leading the Office of Corporate Responsibility specifically selected me to reimagine the program based on my previous work with the organization and her confidence in my instructional-design expertise.
I owned the project from beginning to end. My responsibilities included:
Project management
Stakeholder engagement
Curriculum review and redesign
Audience analysis
Topic identification and prioritization
Instructional design
Visual design and branding
PowerPoint development
Animation
Facilitator/speaker notes
Script development
Content updates
Annual curriculum review coordination
Stakeholder communication and alignment
I worked directly with the Office of Corporate Responsibility and its designated point of contact.
The business owned the subject-matter content and regulatory/community requirements; I translated those requirements into a cohesive learning experience and curriculum structure.
The Approach
I approached the project as a curriculum redesign and rearchitecture, rather than simply updating existing presentations.
1. Assess what already existed
I reviewed the materials from both legacy organizations and identified:
What content they had in common
Where the programs differed
What remained relevant
What needed to be removed or rewritten
Where new topics were needed
Which materials could realistically be reused
There was not a great deal that could simply be repurposed, so the project became an opportunity to rethink the curriculum rather than preserve the legacy structure.
2. Establish a cohesive curriculum identity
One of the major design challenges was creating a shared visual identity.
Individual programs needed to feel distinctive enough for their subject matter and audience, but they also needed to clearly belong to the same financial-literacy curriculum.
I therefore established a consistent visual language across the program—including presentation structure, design, animation, and facilitator support.
The result was a curriculum that felt intentional and contemporary rather than like a collection of materials inherited from two different organizations.
3. Design for the audience—not the topic
The same subject could require fundamentally different instructional approaches depending on the learner.
Teaching a child what a bank is is obviously different from teaching an adult who has never independently managed a bank account.
So rather than designing one generic “Financial Literacy 101” experience, I developed audience-appropriate versions where necessary.
The design considered:
Age
What can this audience reasonably understand?
Experience
What prior knowledge can we assume?
Context
What circumstances might bring this person into the program?
Relevance
How does this information connect to their actual life?
Tone
How can we teach foundational concepts without making learners feel embarrassed or inadequate?
That last point is particularly important for adult learners encountering financial concepts for the first time.
4. Build for sustainability
Because community facilitators could change from session to session, I designed the PowerPoint presentations with comprehensive speaker notes.
The notes included guidance on what to say, when to advance the presentation, how to use the animations, and how to facilitate the material.
The objective was simple: A facilitator should be able to step in—even with limited subject-matter expertise—and confidently deliver the program after appropriate preparation.
That created a much more sustainable program than relying on one or two people who happened to know the content particularly well.
5. Keep the curriculum current
The Office of Corporate Responsibility retained ownership of the content.
I established a process in which the program was reviewed annually, allowing stakeholders to identify new topics, regulatory considerations, emerging scams, and other changes that needed to be reflected in the curriculum.
That created a maintainable learning system rather than a one-time training deliverable.
I approached the project as a curriculum redesign and rearchitecture, rather than simply updating existing presentations.
1. Assess what already existed
I reviewed the materials from both legacy organizations and identified:
What content they had in common
Where the programs differed
What remained relevant
What needed to be removed or rewritten
Where new topics were needed
Which materials could realistically be reused
There was not a great deal that could simply be repurposed, so the project became an opportunity to rethink the curriculum rather than preserve the legacy structure.
2. Establish a cohesive curriculum identity
One of the major design challenges was creating a shared visual identity.
Individual programs needed to feel distinctive enough for their subject matter and audience, but they also needed to clearly belong to the same financial-literacy curriculum.
I therefore established a consistent visual language across the program—including presentation structure, design, animation, and facilitator support.
The result was a curriculum that felt intentional and contemporary rather than like a collection of materials inherited from two different organizations.
3. Design for the audience—not the topic
The same subject could require fundamentally different instructional approaches depending on the learner.
Teaching a child what a bank is is obviously different from teaching an adult who has never independently managed a bank account.
So rather than designing one generic “Financial Literacy 101” experience, I developed audience-appropriate versions where necessary.
The design considered:
Age
What can this audience reasonably understand?
Experience
What prior knowledge can we assume?
Context
What circumstances might bring this person into the program?
Relevance
How does this information connect to their actual life?
Tone
How can we teach foundational concepts without making learners feel embarrassed or inadequate?
That last point is particularly important for adult learners encountering financial concepts for the first time.
4. Build for sustainability
Because community facilitators could change from session to session, I designed the PowerPoint presentations with comprehensive speaker notes.
The notes included guidance on what to say, when to advance the presentation, how to use the animations, and how to facilitate the material.
The objective was simple: A facilitator should be able to step in—even with limited subject-matter expertise—and confidently deliver the program after appropriate preparation.
That created a much more sustainable program than relying on one or two people who happened to know the content particularly well.
5. Keep the curriculum current
The Office of Corporate Responsibility retained ownership of the content.
I established a process in which the program was reviewed annually, allowing stakeholders to identify new topics, regulatory considerations, emerging scams, and other changes that needed to be reflected in the curriculum.
That created a maintainable learning system rather than a one-time training deliverable.
Leadership & Execution
Although this was a team-of-one project, it still required significant stakeholder leadership.
I served as the primary point of contact between instructional design and the Office of Corporate Responsibility.
The business stakeholders brought the subject-matter knowledge, community needs, emerging issues, and content changes.
I brought the instructional-design expertise needed to determine how that information should become learning.
That distinction was important.
I wasn’t the owner of the financial-literacy content.
I was the architect of how that content became a coherent learning experience.
I also had to manage the tension between consistency and flexibility.
The curriculum needed a recognizable identity, but individual topics and audiences needed room to be designed appropriately.
Similarly, the content needed to be comprehensive enough to support facilitators but simple enough to remain usable in a community setting.
Although this was a team-of-one project, it still required significant stakeholder leadership.
I served as the primary point of contact between instructional design and the Office of Corporate Responsibility.
The business stakeholders brought the subject-matter knowledge, community needs, emerging issues, and content changes.
I brought the instructional-design expertise needed to determine how that information should become learning.
That distinction was important.
I wasn’t the owner of the financial-literacy content.
I was the architect of how that content became a coherent learning experience.
I also had to manage the tension between consistency and flexibility.
The curriculum needed a recognizable identity, but individual topics and audiences needed room to be designed appropriately.
Similarly, the content needed to be comprehensive enough to support facilitators but simple enough to remain usable in a community setting.
The Solution
The result was a cohesive, multi-audience financial-literacy curriculum designed for community-based delivery.
The program expanded beyond the legacy materials to include new and timely topics, including:
Banking fundamentals
Saving and responsible money management
Fraud prevention
Predatory lending
Home-buying preparation
Elder financial abuse
Scams
Small-business banking
Other consumer and business financial topics
The curriculum could be adapted for different audiences, including children, teenagers, and adults, while maintaining a recognizable overall identity.
Built-in facilitator support
Each presentation incorporated comprehensive speaker notes rather than requiring a separate facilitator guide. The notes provided:
Facilitation guidance
Presentation cues
Animation instructions
Talking points
Preparation support
This meant that if a scheduled facilitator became unavailable, another prepared facilitator could step in without needing to be a deep subject-matter expert.
Designed to represent the organization
The redesigned curriculum also gave Webster a consistent and professional presence in community education.
The materials were sufficiently polished that versions of the presentations appeared in community outreach and marketing materials, including a public-facing media segment.
The result was a cohesive, multi-audience financial-literacy curriculum designed for community-based delivery.
The program expanded beyond the legacy materials to include new and timely topics, including:
Banking fundamentals
Saving and responsible money management
Fraud prevention
Predatory lending
Home-buying preparation
Elder financial abuse
Scams
Small-business banking
Other consumer and business financial topics
The curriculum could be adapted for different audiences, including children, teenagers, and adults, while maintaining a recognizable overall identity.
Built-in facilitator support
Each presentation incorporated comprehensive speaker notes rather than requiring a separate facilitator guide. The notes provided:
Facilitation guidance
Presentation cues
Animation instructions
Talking points
Preparation support
This meant that if a scheduled facilitator became unavailable, another prepared facilitator could step in without needing to be a deep subject-matter expert.
Designed to represent the organization
The redesigned curriculum also gave Webster a consistent and professional presence in community education.
The materials were sufficiently polished that versions of the presentations appeared in community outreach and marketing materials, including a public-facing media segment.
Impact
Although formal quantitative metrics were not available, the qualitative impact was clear.
The redesigned curriculum:
Created consistency.
Programs across different topics and audiences shared a recognizable identity.
Expanded the curriculum.
New and timely financial-literacy topics were added rather than simply preserving legacy content.
Improved facilitator readiness.
Comprehensive speaker notes made the programs easier for different facilitators to deliver.
Supported scalability.
Multiple audience versions allowed the same subject matter to reach different populations appropriately.
Strengthened community outreach.
The refreshed curriculum better represented the organization’s commitment to community education and financial empowerment.
Created a sustainable model.
Annual review provided a mechanism for keeping the curriculum current as financial issues and community needs evolved.
Although formal quantitative metrics were not available, the qualitative impact was clear.
The redesigned curriculum:
Created consistency.
Programs across different topics and audiences shared a recognizable identity.
Expanded the curriculum.
New and timely financial-literacy topics were added rather than simply preserving legacy content.
Improved facilitator readiness.
Comprehensive speaker notes made the programs easier for different facilitators to deliver.
Supported scalability.
Multiple audience versions allowed the same subject matter to reach different populations appropriately.
Strengthened community outreach.
The refreshed curriculum better represented the organization’s commitment to community education and financial empowerment.
Created a sustainable model.
Annual review provided a mechanism for keeping the curriculum current as financial issues and community needs evolved.
Reflection
This project expanded my understanding of who a learner is.
Most of my instructional-design work had been focused on internal organizational audiences. This project required me to design learning that would ultimately be experienced by people outside the organization, many of whom came with very different levels of financial knowledge and life experience.
I learned not to make assumptions about what an adult learner “should already know.”
Financial literacy may seem like common knowledge to someone who has managed a bank account for decades. But for someone leaving an abusive relationship, experiencing a major life transition, returning from incarceration, or managing their finances independently for the first time, those same concepts can represent entirely new skills.
That changed the way I think about audience analysis and learner empathy.
The project reinforced something fundamental: What seems basic to one learner can be completely new to another.
Good instructional design doesn’t begin with assumptions about what people should know.
It begins with understanding where they are.
This project expanded my understanding of who a learner is.
Most of my instructional-design work had been focused on internal organizational audiences. This project required me to design learning that would ultimately be experienced by people outside the organization, many of whom came with very different levels of financial knowledge and life experience.
I learned not to make assumptions about what an adult learner “should already know.”
Financial literacy may seem like common knowledge to someone who has managed a bank account for decades. But for someone leaving an abusive relationship, experiencing a major life transition, returning from incarceration, or managing their finances independently for the first time, those same concepts can represent entirely new skills.
That changed the way I think about audience analysis and learner empathy.
The project reinforced something fundamental: What seems basic to one learner can be completely new to another.
Good instructional design doesn’t begin with assumptions about what people should know.
It begins with understanding where they are.