Promise Indiana activates local communities to help kids save

By Carl Rist, CFED Director, Children's Savings & Senior Advisor, Asset Building

If you’re like most people who follow the children’s savings field, you’ve probably heard about Promise Indiana in Wabash, IN. Under the leadership of Clint Kugler and Phil Maurizi from the Wabash County YMCA, and their local collaborators, Jason Callahan (Wabash City Schools) and Patty Grant (Community Foundation of Wabash County), the Wabash County Promise has already encouraged more than 2,000 kids and their parents in Wabash to open an Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct college savings account. What’s more, the Wabash County Promise has achieved an impressive level of both community and parental engagement, with a savings participation rate of 43% in the first three years of operation.

But did you know about the success of Promise Indiana in activating communities across Indiana to launch Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs)? At an event last week in Indianapolis sponsored by the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance to take a “deep dive” into the Promise Indiana model, I had the distinct pleasure of learning more about Promise Indiana’s expansion into 13 additional communities across the state. The event also gave me the opportunity to meet some of Promise Indiana’s key partners in those communities. Here’s some highlights of what I learned:

Promise Indiana is community-driven/state-supported.

At its core, Promise Indiana is based on a model that is community-driven, but state supported. The state support comes from the state’s CollegeChoice 529 Direct plan that provides the core account platform that all sites use. All sites also provide each participant with an initial $25 deposit (donated by local businesses or donors). From there, Promise communities have wide latitude in designing their own program features (such as matching incentives) and in setting goals for the program. As Clint Kugler said, “community is where change happens,” and each site “activates” their community in ways that align with local needs and preferences.

Innovation is all around.

The social entrepreneurs that direct the Wabash County Promise lead the way in innovation. Some of the notable innovations in Wabash include local banks receiving cash deposits from participants for ultimate deposit in the appropriate CollegeChoice 529 Direct account, and a Mott Foundation-funded initiative (managed by the Community Foundation of Wabash County) to provide early distribution of scholarships for fourth through eighth graders to incentivize achievement in school. But the innovation goes beyond Wabash. Take rural Jay County (pop. 21,330), which has the unwelcome distinction of having the state’s highest child poverty rate. With support from the Portland Foundation (the local community foundation) and local schools, 72% of eligible kids enrolled in the Jay County Promise in its first two years. With over 1,000 kids in grades K-3 that have opened a CollegeChoice 529 Direct account, Jay County now holds the distinction of ranking the fourth highest among all counties in Indiana for its share of youth under 18 years old with a 529 account.

Community Foundations are leading the way.

Indiana is blessed with a strong network of 94 community foundations. More than 35 attended last week’s Deep Dive gathering and many are playing a leading role in making the Indiana Promise a reality in their communities. Beyond providing funding to help support the Indiana Promise, many community foundations have also agreed to be the local fiscal agent for the program. In still other communities, the local community foundation is the lead organization. For example, in tiny Benton County (pop. 8700), which has no United Way or YMCA, the community foundation added staff to run the Benton Community Promise. Ashley Bice, the executive director of the Benton Community Foundation, noted that if the Promise Indiana was going to happen in Benton County, it “would have to be the community foundation.”

But it’s not just community foundations – a diverse set of funders have embraced the work.

One of the success factors of successful, sustainable CSA programs is the ability to attract a diversified set of funders, including public sources of support. In addition to the strong support from community foundations, Promise Indiana has attracted support from:

• Businesses – for example, Parkview Health, a network of health providers and hospitals across northeast Indiana provides the $25 initial deposit for all accountholders in Promise programs in their footprint.
• Public sector – several Promise Indiana communities have succeeded in attracting funding from their local county commissioners – often presenting the Promise as an economic development strategy.
• National foundations – the Lilly Endowment has provided funding to Promise Indiana to provide core operating support for three years to Promise Indiana sites in 10 communities.

Stay tuned for more updates as Promise Indiana continues to expand to more communities in Indiana and seeks to ensure that every child has the assets, champions and community support to pursue their dreams.