It’s estimated that two-thirds of college seniors graduated in 2010 owing student loans and they carried an average of $25,250 in debt. Is anyone willing to give these graduates a hand?
The founders of
Fund Scholars believe there are people willing to do that and have created a website to connect them with college students. Crowdfunded scholarships offered through the site would help students each semester, reducing the amount of debt students have as they graduate.
A group of Kalamazoo entrepreneurs developed the idea at a
Start-Up Weekend event in Grand Rapids earlier this month and put the website together over the subequent 54 hours. When he set out for Grand Rapids, Nathan Cahill, founder, didn't know he would find other entrepreneurs from the Kalamazoo area interested in working with him.
Cahill says the greatest challenge over the weekend was determining why people might want to participate in crowdfunding scholarships for students. But as the weekend went on his team realized that such donations already are taking place -- relatives give students money for college when they graduate from high school, civic organizations offer scholarships. The desire to give to students appears to be strong, Cahill says.
The website offers those who are willing to give an opportunity to donate. It also offers students a way to seek funds from a broader base than their immediate friends and family.
Donors are encouraged to connect with students to find out about their educational pursuits. Students are urged to list the classes they want to take for the upcoming semester, and their academic and extracurricular goals. They are encouraged to create a pitch that reflects their personality and tell a story. They also can upload a Youtube video. Scholars are encouraged to let people know about their funding needs through Facebook and other means and direct would be funders to their Fund Scholars page.
Fund Scholars evaluates the college credentials of students seeking funding and verifies their enrollment. The site also gives the funds directly to the university so that funders can be assured the money is going toward tuition and fees, not a student’s bar tab.
Students have a semester to raise their goal and if it it not reached funders are not obligated to make a donation.
The money is collected through Paypal.
Cahill says that news about the website has spread by word of mouth and about 30 students already have posted their requests for funding on the week-old site.
So far the most successful student on the week-old site is Elvira, from Guatemala, who originally dropped out of school at age 12 and then decided six years later to pursue her education. Today, she is 23, and is in her second year at AMERG (Association of Guatemalan Rural Teachers) working toward a degree secondary education. She has raised more than half of her goal.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Nathan Cahill, Fund Scholars
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