Going to college is a significant milestone for young people and their parents. However, even at a time when students can take accredited college programs remotely, it’s still expensive. Unfortunately, that makes funding a major hurdle for students and their parents. So, how can students and parents fund college? Well, we have three approaches, from scholarships for college to shoe drive fundraisers.
So, let’s start with creative ways to fund your education and the expenses you need.
Scholarships for college: Your golden ticket.
The very first place you should look for funding is by researching scholarships for College. You can consider those scholarships as your golden ticket to higher education. Sites like Going Merry allow you to search through countless scholarships. It connects you with the right scholarships for you. Moreover, it allows you to apply for multiple scholarships with one application. The fact is that tens of thousands of scholarships exist for students.
Still, many students don’t do the due diligence because they don’t know. They think that scholarships are only for athletes or based on need. But that’s not the case. Here’s a quick primer on the types of scholarships available to you. (Check out how to make FAFSA easier).
- Merit-based scholarships are awarded to students with exceptional achievements.
- Need-based scholarships are provided to students who demonstrate financial need.
- Athletic scholarships are given to talented athletes for collegiate sports.
- Scholarships exist for underrepresented groups, including race and gender.
- Depending on your major (e.g., STEM), you can also find scholarships for those degrees.
- If you’ve demonstrated a commitment to community service, scholarships exist.
- For those in military families, scholarships are available.
- Corporate scholarships exist in special programs for specific business careers.
- First-generation students have scholarships if they’re the first in the family to go to college.
- Finally, you could find career-specific scholarships for jobs like nursing or teaching.
Crowdfunding: Harnessing the power of community.
As a member of Gen Z, everyone knows you’re the digital masters. But did you know you can leverage crowdfunding to help you fund college? The fact is that platforms like GoFundMe, ScholarMatch, and GiveSmart are all great crowdfunding platforms for college. But there are plenty more, and all you have to do is an internet search for more ideas. Once you know which platform you’ll use, the next thing is knowing how to do it right.
For starters, crowdfunding is all about telling a compelling story. If you’re someone who’s the first in your family to go to college, that’s an important fact to share. If you’ve overcome obstacles, or perhaps your family, those are other elements of telling a story that moves people to support your cause. Next, you want to get clear about your education goals and how contributing to your fundraiser is going to get you where you need to go.
As we know, everything in the digital world is all about story and visuals. What they say about a picture being worth a thousand words is valid. So, you want to share the personal touch of videos, photos, and little stories that help people see you in the college you want to attend. Then, you’ve got to share it with everyone you know and ask them to share whether or not they can contribute since you need people to share it.
The fact is that promotion is crucial to a crowdfunding campaign for your college education. So, share, share, share, and promote, promote, promote. Get on all the best social media platforms for Gen Z (ask your parents too!) and then share the content. However, go beyond social and talk to your extended family, friends, and neighbors. If you do it right, you can raise college funds and create a community of supporters for your education.
Shoe drive fundraisers, earning funds, and sustainability.
Finally, there’s another great way to raise college funds: a shoe drive fundraiser. The idea of this type of fundraiser is simple. All you do is collect gently worn, used and new shoes, and you get paid for the shoes collected. It’s that simple, and it’s something that not only helps you defray the costs of higher education but also does so much for the planet and sustainability.
The fact is that over 300 million shoes go into the trash every year. We know that’s not sustainable, and there’s got to be something better we can do with all those shoes. When you work with a reputable and leading shoe drive fundraising leader, you can do something great for your community. In short, you can place boxes in strategic locations (e.g., local college, supermarket, church, grammar school, etc.) and ask your community to simply drop off their unwanted shoes in those boxes, which you collect for your fundraiser.
Why do Gen Z and their parents love shoe drive fundraisers? Well, shoe drive fundraisers not only raise funds for college, but they also help the planet. Further, when you do a shoe drive fundraiser, you also help people in developing nations worldwide. Most people around the world use second-hand clothing and shoes, so there’s a big need for these items, and it gives people jobs to help themselves out of poverty.
Make your dream of college a reality.
The fact is that there’s help available to fund your higher education. It just takes a little work, but you can do it. If you want to make your dream a reality, from scholarships to crowdfunding to shoe drive fundraisers, there’s a path. Remember that you want to be creative when looking for ways to fund your college days. Think of it like a treasure hunt. All you have to do is find the opportunities waiting for you!
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Author: Jenna Christine
Bio: Jenna is a corporate relations specialist with over ten years experience in employee relations and brand development roles. She is a dedicated volunteer within the disability advocacy space, and loves to bake and run marathons.