Nonprofits
NYC public school grads have raised $1 million for their fellow alumni to attend college
With its funding model being replicated by the Trump administration, NYC Kids Rise Scholarship accounts continue to build safety nets for public school kids.
NYC public school grads love to rep their school – and donate to current students. NYC Kids RISE
New York City public school alumni gave more than $1 million in the last three years towards future college scholarships for students attending the same schools they did.
Through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, grads of city public schools contributed nearly 1,000 small dollar donations ranging from $10 to $575 donations to 16,600 elementary school students across the five boroughs. Many of these contributions are being matched by philanthropies such as The Friedman Family Foundation and the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund.
The announcement is planned for Tuesday, and was shared first with NYN Media. It follows three years of alumni-led community investments, which include direct donations through the NYC Kids Rise platform, school visits and guidance towards different career paths and professional opportunities.
“It is a transformative investment,” said Debra-Ellen Glickstein, founding executive director of the Queens-based nonprofit NYC Kids RISE. “It transforms what kids and families perceive as what is possible for folks’ lives, by knowing that you have resources from the community and from the city.”
Founded over a decade ago, the program has enrolled more than 380,000 students into its Save for College Program, which automatically opens 529 college savings accounts for kindergartners and students through the fourth grade, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. With a near majority of public school children participating in the program, the nonprofit presides over $80 million in investments saved for future college and career paths.
The program is highly favored by New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who helped build it during her time as commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs from 2014 to 2016. Menin’s recent budget response includes a major funding expansion: investing $1,000 to $3,000 in every public school kindergartener, a jump from the current $100. Once enrolled, parents and guardians can’t make deposits to or withdrawals from the New York City Scholarship Accounts, which can only be accessed by graduating students for higher education expenses. Community members, organizations and businesses can directly donate to student scholarship accounts.
As research indicates that children from low-income households with college savings accounts are more likely to attend college and graduate, the model is being picked up on the federal level – namely through the “Trump Accounts” or 530A accounts,a form of traditional individual retirement accounts designed for children. Unlike the NYC Kids Rise program, these accounts need to be opened by individual families.
“Early wealth building has now captured the policymakers at every level of government,” said Glickstein. “There is a real recognition about the importance of kids having access to real assets, because it determines life choices early on.”