• The Foundation will identify families with low-income status (defined as families whose total household income is $40,000/year or less).
• Candidate families will be chosen and enrolled into the Foundation by a selection committee.
• The Foundation will enlist sponsoring companies to pledge funds to match the savings of enrolled families. The minimum commitment from each sponsoring company is $1200/year to sponsor one family, but companies are welcome to sponsor additional families.
• Once the family is approved, they will be required to open a specific type of account (either 529 Plan or an investment account) with one of the banks/investment companies we have listed as sponsors.
• Each month, the enrolled family will send a check to The Foundation for any amount and the Foundation will match the amount of money up to $100/month. The money will then be deposited by The Pledging Tree Foundation to the selected financial institution.
• The Pledging Tree Foundation will match funds for twelve months only. After the completion of twelve months, it will be the responsibility of the family to continue contributing to their funds until they realize their goals.
• To bring a long lasting impact on these families, The Pledging Tree Foundation will educate families about improving and maintaining financial well-being through training and workshops. Highly qualified financial advisors and representatives from financial institutions will conduct quarterly workshops on topics ranging from saving for the future to recovering from credit card debt and much more. Training materials will come from different resources, including the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).  These workshops will only be held for families enrolled into the program. Attendance is mandatory for at least 3 out of 4 workshops conducted in a year.
  

Contribution & Matching Process

Once approved and enrolled, the family will then be required to open a specific type of account (either 529 Plan or an investment account) with one of the banks/investment companies affiliated with The Pledging Tree Foundation. The enrolled family may start contributing from the first day of the month after they are approved. The contribution by the enrolled family must be made anytime between the first and last day of the month in order for the funds to be counted for that given month. Checks should be mailed to The Pledging Tree Foundation. If the family is unable to make a contribution in a given month, they will not be entitled for the matching contribution by TPTF and past contribution amounts cannot be carried over to the next month. If the family is unable to contribute for three consecutive months, their enrollment to the Foundation will automatically be terminated and TPTF will stop matching funds. However, the family can continue contributing in the future. If the family wishes to reapply for participation in the Foundation, they can do so after their one-year period is finished.

Key Success Factors

To measure the success of our program, we have developed and implemented four criteria for success.  We measure these criteria periodically and take corrective actions to achieve the Foundation’s stated objective. The key success factors are as follows:

• The monthly contribution by each enrolled family equals or exceeds $100 during their enrollment period.  The purpose of this criterion is that enrolled families benefit from receiving the maximum matching funds from our program.  This can be measured by reviewing the monthly deposits made by the families.

• The monthly savings of each family equals or exceeds $100 for a two-year period after their enrollment period has ended.  The purpose of this criterion is that enrolled families have cultivated the habit of disciplined savings.  This can be measured by statements that each family will provide after the program has ended.

• Each enrolled family attend at least three of the four workshop/training sessions that take place during their enrollment year.  The purpose is that families are gaining knowledge to manage their successful financial futures.  This can be measured by the attendance sheet.

• Since two of the four workshop/training sessions are open to the public, the percentage of public attendees at the workshops/training sessions grows by at least 10% every year.  The purpose of this criterion is to engage the public more in this program in order to have a broader impact in the community. This can be measured by the attendance sheet.

Source of Funding

The Foundation will be funded through donations from corporate sponsors as well as individual donors.  The donors can directly donate money to the Foundation or can designate donations through other charitable organizations such as United Way. The Foundation is currently working with other charitable organizations to enable designation of funds.

The foundation has different levels of partnership with business sponsors. The table below outlines the donation amounts. Families are enrolled only when the funds are appropriated in advance. Individual donors can donate any amount and the Foundation will enroll the next family once the minimum amount to sponsor one family is reached.

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