Washtenaw County students receive $1m in free savings accounts – and another $2m is still available

My Future Fund, a Washtenaw County-wide savings account program for students, invested $1 million in 16,000 free college and career savings accounts in its first year. Program organizers want families in the county to know there's about $2 million still available in matching funds for families who allow a brief income eligibility check.

My Future Fund is made possible with a $6.7 million investment from the county's general fund. It's administered by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD). All county pupils in second through seventh grades were automatically enrolled in an account with a starting balance of $25 unless the family opted out. The program was extended to first-graders recently as well. Families who meet certain income guidelines can qualify for an additional $475. They must allow WISD to check the family's income eligibility, but My Future Fund Coordinator Sara Saylor says it's a simple process.

"It takes five minutes," Saylor says. With interest, she says, that five-minute investment alone could turn into $800 or $1,000 for the child's education after they graduate. The district already has information about which students qualify for federal free or reduced lunches, which is the criterion used to award the $475. 

"There's a big push because there's a deadline of Nov. 30 for families to claim those dollars for the next round of deposits," she says. "If they meet the criteria, we'll put that into their accounts next year in 2025."

As part of that push, WISD recently held a ceremony to give "Dream Big" and "Above and Beyond" awards honoring the schools and districts with the highest participation in the program. Saylor says about one in three students across the county should qualify for the additional funds, and even more than that on the east side of the county. Only about half the families of students who qualify for the additional funds have applied for it, she says.

Saylor says studies show that when you give students even a small amount of money, it increases the chances they'll pursue college or another post-secondary educational opportunity. A secondary goal is financial education for families, so that parents and other relatives might be inspired to start a savings account as well. 

"Our primary goal is to help them see themselves as someone who can pursue education after high school," Saylor says.

More information, including a form that helps families determine if they qualify for the $475 bonus, is available at www.myfuturefund.org.

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of Washtenaw ISD.