CASE STUDY
Empowering Financial Resilience:
Xpan & Momentum's Award-Winning Money Management Solutions
Xpan & Momentum's Award-Winning Money Management Solutions
When Calgary-based non-profit Momentum set out to expand its financial literacy training for low-income Albertans, it faced a challenge: how to deliver complex, sensitive topics in an accessible, empathetic, and scalable way. Partnering with Xpan, the organizations co-created an innovative online learning experience that would not only empower individuals with essential money management skills but also gain international recognition for excellence in digital learning.
From course development to platform creation, this partnership now supports the ongoing access to free, on-demand financial education to thousands of Albertans through the Alberta Money Management portal, in collaboration with the Government of Alberta.
Momentum’s mission centers on community economic development, helping people living on low incomes build sustainable livelihoods through skills, knowledge, and confidence.
Historically, Momentum provided impactful in-person workshops, but these sessions had limitations:
Momentum wanted a solution that would:
From the beginning, the partnership between Xpan and Momentum was rooted in collaboration. Together, they designed and developed a comprehensive Money Management program that covered essential topics such as banking, budgeting, credit building, asset growth, and consumer awareness. Every aspect of the course was shaped by an understanding of the learners’ realities. The content was written in plain language to remove barriers to understanding, and interactive elements were built into the design to keep learners actively engaged. The course is mobile-friendly, ensuring that participants could access the materials from any device, at any time.
This commitment to quality and accessibility did not go unnoticed. The Money Management course earned Gold in the 2020 Horizon Interactive Awards, which recognizes excellence in interactive media on an international scale. For both Momentum and Xpan, this award was not just a symbol of creative and technical achievement, it was a validation of their shared mission to empower people through education.
For Momentum, the recognition from the Horizon Interactive Awards was a proud moment, as Executive Director Jeff Loomis explained: “It’s an honour for us to be recognized with Xpan on the international level for our financial empowerment work. We look forward to continuing to work together to offer additional training that can help Albertans build sustainable livelihoods.”
For Xpan, the project exemplified the power of empathetic, learner-centered design. As Xpan’s founder Ron Thiele put it: “We collaborated closely with Momentum to design a learning experience that met people where they are and provide the tools they need to make informed financial decisions.”
The success of the courses sparked the next phase of collaboration. Recognizing the need for a centralized platform to host and deliver Momentum’s financial literacy resources, Xpan designed and developed the Alberta Money Management portal. Supported by the Government of Alberta, the portal became the public-facing home for some of Momentum’s courses, making them freely available to learners across the province. Xpan’s role extended beyond development; we continue to manage and support the platform, ensuring it remains secure, user-friendly, and capable of handling the growing number of learners.
The results of this partnership have been far-reaching. Thousands of Albertans have accessed the courses, building skills to manage their money, reduce debt, and plan for the future. Momentum has expanded its reach without sacrificing the quality of its training, while Xpan provided the technical foundation to sustain and expand this impact over time. Plans are already in place to develop additional online training, including modules focused on job readiness and entrepreneurship, further supporting Momentum’s mission of helping people build sustainable livelihoods.
What began as a single project has grown into a long-term partnership, one that continues to evolve in response to community needs. By blending Momentum’s deep expertise in financial empowerment with Xpan’s innovation in digital learning, the two organizations have created more than a course or a website, they have built a lasting resource that is changing lives across Alberta.
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