The Promise Program

Funder: Parke County Community Foundation Inc (in partnership with Promise Indiana, Indiana Education Savings Authority, and Lilly Endowment)

Geographic Scope: Parke County, Indiana

Focus Areas: Post-secondary education access, college and career readiness, educational savings for youth

Program Description: The Promise is a community-driven initiative that promotes saving for post-secondary education. The program:

• Helps families start a CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings account through schools
• Seeds accounts with initial investments from local/regional sponsors
• Rallies the community to match family and champion deposits
• Integrates college and career discovery activities in K-5 classrooms
• Provides campus visits and interactive learning experiences through "Walk Into My Future" events

Eligibility: Elementary-aged students in Parke County schools selected to participate in the pilot program

Program Launch: Parke County joined The Promise program in 2019, becoming one of the newest communities to launch with support from Promise Indiana

Impact:

• Over 13,000 youth statewide have started CollegeChoice 529 direct savings accounts through The Promise program
• Research shows youth with college savings accounts are 3-4.5 times more likely to attend college
• CollegeChoice 529 accounts can be used at 2-year community colleges, 4-year universities, or trade/technical schools

Funding: Parke County donors raised more than $60,000 to launch the local Promise program

Contact Information:

• Colleen Engle, Parke County Community Foundation
• Email: cengle@parkeccf.org
• Phone: (765) 569-7223
• Website: www.PromiseIndiana.org
• Parke County Community Foundation
• 115 N. Market Street
• PO Box 276
• Rockville, IN 47872