At Gift of College, we’ve cracked the code on substantially reducing student loan debt by helping Americans with both debt paydown and saving for college by empowering individuals and families to include extended family members, friends, and employers into their education funding strategies.

Our products and services reach millions of consumers through 3 main channels:

1. Retail
2. Online resources
3. Workplaces

We help each person we touch (whether a gift-giver, a gift receiver, an employer, or an employee) take a bite out of existing and future student loan debt. 

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Let’s start with a general picture of the student loan landscape and the lack of awareness of one of the most impactful strategies to avoid this debt-- 529 college savings plans. The most recent data indicates:

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1.  A Workplace Revolution:

We have integrated with ADP, the largest payroll provider in the United States, as well as with other payroll platforms, to offer employers impactful solutions that assist with:

• Gift Cards: We enable employers to offer Gift of College gift cards for rewards and recognition programs, new hires, new babies, and other milestones to save for college and pay down student loan debt.
  
  
• Payroll Deduction:  Employers leverage our platform to offer payroll deduction to 529 college savings and student loan accounts, and some are contributing set amounts or matching employee contributions.

It’s a win-win for employers and employees!

2.  From Wall Street to Walmart

Our retail distribution channels extend from Walmart.com to Target, from Save Mart to H-E-B, and to other popular retailers across every corner of the U.S.

3. Online Crowdfunding and Gift Card Sales

Through our easy-to-use crowdfunding platform and through our sale of electronic and physical gift cards, we make it easy and simple for an aunt, uncle, grandparent, and employer to contribute to a student loan or 529 account for any occasion, or just because.

4. Shopping Rewards Platform

Through our shopping rewards platform, we make sure that everyday spending can result in earning rewards to pay down student loan debt or save in a 529 plan.

Our addressable market is sizeable in both the employer and individual channels:

• Our partnership with ADP, the largest payroll provider in the world provides access to 1 in every 6 employees in the U.S.
  
  
• 89% of employers do not offer 529 benefits and 96% of employers offer no student loan benefits yet over 43 million have outstanding student loans (Source)
  
  

• 60 million children do not have 529 accounts, and among the 14 million children lucky enough to have 529 accounts, many still require additional contributions to make higher education economically feasible —the average 529 account balance only covers a fraction of the total cost of a degree (Source)

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Our traction to date has been strong, and with the addition of the employer channel, is getting even stronger.

• As of August 2020, we have seen 20,000+ crowdfunding platform users helping pay down over $15 million in student loans and save over $10 million in college savings accounts
  
  
• We have generated more than $1.2 million in revenue in 2019, doubling since 2016. As a Software as a Service business, we have little to no ongoing costs. Our 2019 COGS were zero and 2019 expenses were $1,068,290.
  
  

• Launched an integrated solution with the world’s largest payroll provider from whom one in six employees receives their paychecks
  
  

• Nearly 25% of 529 state plans have found it valuable to use our brand, technologies, and gift cards to promote their 529 plans. 

And…we are just getting started!

 We do this by:

• Providing the tools for users to alleviate their debt through the support of others
• Giving those who want to save both the financial awareness and path to do so with 529 college savings and 529 ABLE plans
• Giving loved ones the ability to easily lend a hand through direct contributions via our crowdfunding platform or through gift card purchases in retail or online

• Our platform raises awareness of 529 plans and improves employee recruiting, retention, and engagement by encouraging employers to assist their employees in student loan contributions and savings

According to ISS Market Intelligence, employees who save for college through payroll deduction save 75% more than those who save for college through automatic contributions from their checking or savings accounts.

Our multifaceted revenue model allows us to access both B2B and B2C markets, diversifying our business while maximizing reach and savings opportunities for our users.

• Employers: Employers using our payroll deduction and optional employer match platform pay us $4.50 per month for each participating employee, or can buy gift cards in bulk and pay $3.50 per gift card on top of the face value
  
  
• Retail: We receive revenue in the form of co-branding fees which vary based on retailer and number of store locations, as well as $12.50 from the 529 plan or its program manager for each new account funded with a co-branded card
  
  
• Promotional Uses:  529 plan sponsors and other entities buy promotional-use gift cards from us in bulk and pay us a $4 fee on top of the face value
  
  
• Our Platform: Gift Card Sales and Direct Contributions at GiftofCollege.com: Fees range from $3.95-$5.95 for gift cards and 5% (up to a maximum of $15) for online contributions
  
  
• Licensing of Gift of College Crowdfunding Technology:  Other stakeholders provide us with additional revenue streams through SaaS licensing fees for custom integrations 

Our “Secret Sauce” is:

1. We help users on the saving AND re-paying sides
   
   
2. Our core focus is on raising awareness for the use of 529 plans
   
   
3. We are subject matter experts who understand the cost and value of higher education, are product agnostic, and are not selling student loan refinancing or other services
   
   
4. Our platform and gift cards work with 529A (ABLE) plans, which creates a large additional audience -- 8 million individuals with disabilities
   
   

5. We are donating a percentage of our revenue to support disability organizations and children’s savings account programs that utilize 529 plans to uplift their constituents

Our core vision is to continue our current momentum helping Americans avoid student loan debt.  We will do this by:

• Continuing to scale our At-Work solutions via distribution through more payroll partners and by expanding on our existing ADP relationship. Employers of every size in every part of the country should be offering one or more of our solutions
  
  
• Advocating for federal tax legislation to support employers’ involvement in seeding and contributing to 529 plans

It was the individual vision of Founder and CEO, Wayne Weber, that created Gift of College. It is Wayne’s ability to inspire and attract extremely talented peers to join the team that has subsequently helped him to lock arms with others to grow the company.  

A key hire, Patricia Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, brings to the team over 20 years of experience in helping tens of thousands of families prepare for the cost of higher education through her leadership in nearly every aspect of the 529 college savings arena.

Dr. Kristine Sickels, Chief Marketing Officer, is a marketing academic with a 20+ year career in consumer marketing.   

Rob Creaser, Chief Financial and Chief Compliance Officer, is an extremely experienced start-up and fintech compliance officer who has the depth of knowledge needed to create and support compliant products and services in highly regulated arenas.  For the past two years, Rob has worked for StartEngine Primary LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and FINRA/SIPC member. He currently is the Chief Compliance Officer of StartEngine Primary LLC. Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) is a separately regulated business and is not part of StartEngine Primary LLC’s operations. StartEngine Primary LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc., which is also the parent company of StartEngine Capital LLC, the funding portal conducting this Regulation Crowdfunding Offering. StartEngine Primary LLC and StartEngine Capital LLC are sister companies. 

Jaime Casap, Strategic Advisor, was Google’s Chief Education Evangelist for over 14 years.  

The student loan crisis is one of the defining economic issues of our time, and as it continues to balloon it will only have a greater impact on the rest of the economy, and the financial lives of tens of millions of people.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to join a rewarding mission that happens to be profitable. It’s a chance to do well by doing good.