NCAN member Earn to Learn, based in Tucson, Arizona, provides an awesome example of the power of partnerships for our students.
Founded in 2013 by CEO Kate Hoffman, Earn to Learn’s mission is to empower students to achieve their goals and be workforce ready with little to no student debt. After working in the financial services sector, Hoffman was driven by the skyrocketing cost
of college to support low-to-moderate income (LMI) students striving to attain a postsecondary education.
Hoffman facilitated a collaboration between Arizona’s public universities, community colleges, high schools, and financial service providers to launch Earn to Learn. Here’s how it works: Students who qualify based on income deposit $500 into a savings
account each year. Those funds are then matched 8:1 through university support and other public and philanthropic funding, bringing the total award to $4,500. Now, Earn to Learn operates one of the largest and most successful matched savings programs
in the United States.
Kate Hoffman, Earn to Learn Founder and CEO
How did Earn to Learn use its success to go from great to even greater?
Enter the Arizona State Treasurer’s Office (ASTO). After administration of Arizona’s 529 program (AZ559) moved to ASTO, this created the opportunity for Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee to consider a possibility: partnering with Earn to Learn to replicate
the matched-savings model on the 529 program.
Enrolling low-to-moderate income students on the 529 platform:
Provides an opportunity to potentially serve a much larger number of students in Arizona (LMI families historically tend to not open 529s).
Provides an opportunity to educate LMI families about saving for college by utilizing a 529 account (they may have never heard of a 529 account, or if they had heard of the 529 account, they may have assumed it wasn’t a tool for them).
Provides an opportunity to create a deeper understanding of banking for those potential participants who may be unbanked or underbanked.
Creates the opportunity to raise the overall level of understanding about the complexity of financing higher education.
Expands the outreach to economically disadvantaged families to encourage postsecondary pathways and student success.
Provides an additional opportunity for financial capability training in Arizona at scale.
A great partnership comes with some challenges. Legal review of new processes can take time. If you are considering a similar partnership in your state, be prepared with FAQs ready to share with students and parents. Each state differs in how it administers
its 529 program, so specificity is important.
Starting this fall, Earn to Learn will pilot opening accounts on the 529 platform. This includes a signed agreement between Earn to Learn and ASTO, which outlines roles and responsibilities, including data sharing.
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