A $300,000 pilot program launched Tuesday by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta will repay student loans, honing in on borrowers who live in specific neighborhoods who have been active in their communities.
The program is poised to make a big individual impact, but it will start at a limited scale in its first year.
The foundation estimates up to 15 borrowers, including parents who took out loans to pay for their child’s college education, will see their debt erased. The foundation is raising donations to support the program, which they hope to expand to help more people.
The “reverse scholarships” will wipe out up to $30,000 in student debt for those living in South Cobb’s Fair Oaks neighborhood, College Park, East Point and Atlanta’s Thomasville neighborhood.
Lauren Thomas Priest, the foundation’s program officer, said they’re focusing on those areas because that’s “where we saw economic inequality was the highest and sharpest.” The foundation, started in 1951, gives grants to nonprofits for initiatives ranging from the arts to affordable housing. It provides support for about $1.4 billion in assets through more than 1,000 donor funds.
The foundation decided to tackle student debt because it’s “so large and so looming” and impacts borrowers for decades, she said.
“We’ve been looking at student debt for a long time,” Priest said in a phone interview. “The numbers are so large that it’s a pretty big daunting thing.”
In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a White House plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for those with an annual income of less than $125,000.
The metro Atlanta program is kicking off as borrowers prepare to begin repaying their federal student loans in October following a years-long payment pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To be eligible for the initiative, borrowers’ annual income must be less than $150,000, regardless of household size. They also must owe no more than $30,000 in student loans. Borrowers don’t need to have earned a diploma to apply for the help.
The foundation will look specifically for longtime residents who have been active in their communities. Applications are due by Sept. 15.
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