By Janet Byrd
Small amounts of money set aside in children’s names for post- high school pursuits have stunning impacts on early academic success, high school graduation, and college completion, according to a growing body of research. Across the country, communities are coming together to launch children’s savings plans, and philanthropies and businesses are stepping up to help. A recent paper by the Asset Funder’s Network describes some of those efforts.
Because Oregon Children need and deserve that extra boost to support success in school, we’ve been back at the drawing board with members of our Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Committee working on the details of a Children’s Savings Account for every child born in Oregon. We’ve been tweaking our plans, testing ideas, and figuring out all of the steps we need to take to launch a pilot in late 2018 and move statewide soon after.
Stay tuned for more details of what we’ve named the Oregon Bright Futures Plan, and for information about how your organization can be involved. Can’t wait to learn more? Call Janet or email at jbyrd@neighborhoodpartnerships.org