As owner of NBA team the Dallas Mavericks and successful entrepreneur Mark Cuban noted on his blog, “We freak out about the trillions of dollars in debt our country faces. What about the trillion dollar plus debt college kids are facing?”
More than 37 million Americans are burdened with student debt, and they’re falling more behind on their student loans than ever before. Long-term delinquency rates for student loans are higher than delinquency rates of car loans, mortgages and home equity lines of credit.
This isn’t too surprising, though, given the sluggish job market. According to a recent labor analysis by the Associated Press, over half of bachelor’s degree-holders under 25 are underemployed or can’t find a job at all.
“Although the situation is growing worse, the federal government hasn’t been able to find a real solution to the student loan crisis,” says Amy Mintz, founder of Student Body of America Association (SBAA). SBAA is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and viable solutions to American students struggling with student loan debt and the skyrocketing cost of education.
SBAA is the fiscal sponsor of CrowdFundEDU, a social fundraising platform with tangible results and real-world applications. In short, it could be a critical piece in the student debt puzzle.
“CrowdFundEDU is basically KickStarter for education,” explains Mintz. “People hold an online fundraiser for any education-related goal. That includes tuition, student loans, seminars, equipment, study-abroad programs, activities, you name it.”
Like KickStarter, CrowdFundEDU capitalizes on social networks to rally supporters to donate to a worthwhile educational cause. People can either donate directly to fundraisers or make a donation to SBAA, which is tax-deductible and disbursed to students and school fundraisers.
While CrowdFundEDU can be used for all levels of education — from K-12 all the way to a PhD and trade schools and certifications — it has sparked particular interest for its valued potential to change the current unsustainable system that is caught in a debt trap between the unforgiving cost of higher education and a dismal job market. See how crowdfunding will provide help for student loans and overall support for higher education at www.crowdfundedu.com.
