Form Your Team
Your team must consist of three (3) to eight (8) students ages 14-18 who are part of a Cash Club financial literacy club during the 2026-2027 school year.
We don’t want to leave anyone out. Teams may consist of students from multiple clubs, so if you are not on the official team at your school and are interested in competing, we can help connect you with interested students at other Cash Clubs around the state.
After registering, you can alter your team composition until the end of Round 1, as long as all other rules are satisfied.
If you are having difficulty finding teammates, reach out to our Loretta Boniti at the NC Department of State Treasurer for aid in finding a team. Loretta.Boniti@nctreasurer.gov
Register & Get Started
Register here to receive your unique Team ID number. To keep the competition fair from biases, judges do not know the student’s school/organization/community affiliations until the winners are announced. You must include your team ID number on all submissions & exclude any references to school/organization/community affiliation(s).
Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation email and access to a shared drive of resources and the process for getting a competition mentor.
We recommend registering your team early to avoid any technical issues & to receive as many of the free resources we can provide as possible. You may have a faculty advisor, but it is not required.
Develop Your Proposal
Students could explore education reform, apprenticeships, public-private partnerships, rural broadband, artificial intelligence, fintech training, incentives or other approaches. Teams should demonstrate how their proposal would strengthen at least one key North Carolina industry, such as agriculture, banking or research, etc.
This proposal should be forward-thinking, on at least a 20-year planning horizon.
Teams can justify cuts to current spending in one area of the budget to allocate more to a specified area, with clear reasoning on the change and its effects. If teams choose to raise taxes, that must be done under the constitutional mandates of tax limits in the state of North Carolina.
Submitting your First-Round Proposal
Teams create and submit a 20-minute video presentation for round one. You should include slides and audio without showing yourself on camera. (For teams requiring help with technology or equipment, resources will be available.)
For the purpose of fair judging, you should not include any identification of team members, advisors, mentors or school/organization/community affiliations such as school colors, emblems, logos, etc.
First-round submissions are due March 5, 2027.
Upload your presentation as an unlisted video on YouTube and email the link along with your slide deck to FinanceFridays@nctreasurer.gov
We anticipate first-round results to be announced via email and social media by Sunday, March 27th.
Defend Your Plan in North Carolina’s Capital City
Our advising Committee will identify the top teams; first-round results will be available roughly two weeks after the submission deadline. Finalists will present and defend their presentations in front of the panel of expert judges in Raleigh at the N.C. Legislative Building. Teams will present their plan to the judges and then have the opportunity for Q&A.
There will be gas/mileage reimbursement for teams traveling to participate in the finals.
Finals will be held in Raleigh, N.C. on April 30, 2027.