How is New York City's Kids RISE program empowering communities to help children pay for college?

Tangible Hope: Leveraging Assets to Bring Children's Dreams within Reach

08-03-2024 • 45 mins

In this episode we discuss how Kids RISE in New York City is helping families build assets to pay for college through a novel innovation, called community scholarships. Community Scholarships provide an innovative mechanism to drive additional capital into children's savings accounts. Functionally, Community Scholarships are contributions to groups of NYC Scholarship Accounts through a donation to NYC Kids RISE. NYC Kids RISE deposits 100% of the donations received for Community Scholarships into the NYC Scholarship Accounts of the designated group of students.

Find case study on Kids RISE at https://aedi.ssw.umich.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Reports/csa-doorway/csa-doorway-case-study-5.pdf?v=1.0

Find the full report, Unleashing the Power of Children’s Savings accounts (CSAs): Doorway to Multiple Streams of Assets at https://aedi.ssw.umich.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Reports/csa-doorway/csa-doorway-full-report.pdf?v=1.2

Learn more about Kids RISE at https://nyckidsrise.org/https://aedi.ssw.umich.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Reports/csa-doorway/csa-doorway-case-study-5.pdf?v=1.0

Read more about the results from the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program pilot phase and hear stories from many partners who helped co-create and build the Program.

The Community Scholarship culminated in a Virtual Celebration in honor of the children of the neighborhood that included a Read-along, College & Career Panel, musical guests and well wishes from elected, faith, school and community leaders. Read more in Fast Company and the NYCHA Journal.