In 2012, the United Way of Erie County challenged their community to reduce the number of families who cannot meet their basic needs by 10,000 before the year 2025. To measure progress toward this goal, the United Way chose to use the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania to define the level of income needed to meet basic needs. Under the United Way umbrella, a two-year funded pilot program has been initiated that provides a non-traditional model of financial literacy education to participating consumers from three social service organizations and one mental health organization. The Pennsylvania Self Sufficiency Standard and budget calculator are being used to measure and track participant progress towards self-sufficiency.