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The 1:1 Fund

Changing America’s Future, One Student at a Time

What is the 1:1 Fund?

The 1:1 Fund, a social enterprise powered by CFED, is an online community that promotes educational opportunity for low-income students. Leveraging the power of social media, the 1:1 Fund connects low-income students with individual donors who match the savings of these students in qualified child savings accounts (CSAs).

Why the 1:1 Fund?

The rising cost of college discourages many students from pursuing higher education. In the absence of college savings or other financial resources to close the gap between financial aid and the full cost of college, students in low-income families face the prospect of either large amounts of debt, dropping out or not even attending college. The result is that less than 10% of students from low-income families graduate from college by their mid-twenties.

How Does It Work?

Using social media, traditional media, local grassroots efforts and branded national marketing campaigns, the 1:1 Fund will attract individual donors to its online matched savings marketplace. Once there, individual donors search by community or for sponsor organization they would like to support. Donors are assured that all matching funds will be held until the child reaches college age and will only be used for qualified educational expenses.

How You Can Get Involved

• Visit us online at www.1to1fund.org to learn more.
• Donate online to the participating organizations in our initial two pilot communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mississippi, to help raise matching funds for more than 7,500 children already saving for college.
• Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.