Would You Like Your College Loan Forgiven?

Debt does not appear to deter graduates from seeking and securing jobs in the nonprofit sector, according to a 2005 report by the Building Movement Project. Although that’s good news for the sector, the impact of education debt is a source of financial hardship for many nonprofit employees, especially since nonprofit workers earn 21.5% less than private sector workers and 10.9% less than public sector employees.

Yet there is hope for debt-laden nonprofit workers. There are two major types of publicly-financed debt relief programs currently benefiting nonprofit workers. One is the education reward provided by
Americorps, for which only Americorps participants are eligible.

Another debt relief program is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program [PDF]. This program was created by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA) and is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in full-time public service employment by forgiving the remaining balance of their eligible Federal loans.

Many nonprofit workers can take advantage of this opportunity, so here’s what you can do to qualify:

1. Make 120 monthly payments on your loan after October 1, 2007.
2. Be employed by a “public service organization” at the time that loan forgiveness is requested and granted, as well as during the period you make the required 120 monthly payments.
3. Ensure your loan is not in default at the time of the request.

To learn more about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, contact the Department of Education at 1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

The best defense against costly student loans, however, is a good offense of scholarship awards and grant money. To help you avoid education debt, the Foundation Center has Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a database to quickly search through detailed descriptions of more than 6,000 foundations and other grantmakers that offer funding to students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers. 

You can also register for our free class, Finding Foundation Support for Your Education, which is available as an online webinar or as an in-person class.

(Thanks to Asia Hadley, Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta, for sharing this post.)

Yet there is hope for debt-laden nonprofit workers. There are two major types of publicly-financed debt relief programs currently benefiting nonprofit workers. One is the education reward provided by
Americorps, for which only Americorps participants are eligible.

Another debt relief program is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program [PDF]. This program was created by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA) and is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in full-time public service employment by forgiving the remaining balance of their eligible Federal loans.

Many nonprofit workers can take advantage of this opportunity, so here’s what you can do to qualify:

1. Make 120 monthly payments on your loan after October 1, 2007.
2. Be employed by a “public service organization” at the time that loan forgiveness is requested and granted, as well as during the period you make the required 120 monthly payments.
3. Ensure your loan is not in default at the time of the request.

To learn more about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, contact the Department of Education at 1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

The best defense against costly student loans, however, is a good offense of scholarship awards and grant money. To help you avoid education debt, the Foundation Center has Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a database to quickly search through detailed descriptions of more than 6,000 foundations and other grantmakers that offer funding to students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers. 

You can also register for our free class, Finding Foundation Support for Your Education, which is available as an online webinar or as an in-person class.

(Thanks to Asia Hadley, Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta, for sharing this post.)