January 2024
HAPPY NEW YEAR & HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, KEYSTONE SCHOLARS
January 1, 2024, marked the five-year anniversary of Keystone Scholars, which provides a $100 starter deposit for higher education to every baby born to Pennsylvania residents on or after January 1, 2019. Established by Act 42 of 2018, passed by the General Assembly with bipartisan support, Keystone Scholars was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on June 22, 2018.
We’re pleased to share that as of December 31, 2023, over 600,000 Keystone Scholars accounts have been created for Pennsylvania’s newest residents. Of those accounts, eleven percent of families have claimed and registered their accounts online, and nearly twenty-five percent of those families have opened and linked their own companion PA 529 accounts. More than $75 million has been saved in linked PA 529 accounts already, giving our youngest Pennsylvanians a fantastic start to education savings!
Keystone Scholars Fast Facts:
| Total accounts funded: | 609,381 |
| Percentage of babies with accounts funded (since January 1, 2019): |
100% |
| Total accounts registered: | 68,047 |
| Percentage of registered accounts with linked PA 529: | 24.43% |
| Cumulative contributions of accounts with linked PA 529: | $76,336,499 |
This fall, our 2019 cohort of babies will begin kindergarten! This will provide us with additional opportunities to increase awareness about Keystone Scholars and the importance of saving for future education with PA 529 accounts.
What can you do to help us raise awareness of Keystone Scholars and the importance of saving for future education? Explore the transformative impact of Children’s Savings Accounts in breaking the cycle of poverty. CSAs empower children with tangible means to dream big by investing in a bright future. Learn more here.
CSAs in the News
In March 2023, The Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion (AEDI) released the report Unleashing the Power of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs): Doorway to Multiple Streams of Assets. The focus of the case studies was on providing examples of different ways that CSA programs have leveraged these accounts to provide families with multiple asset building streams. Keystone Scholars was the first case study published by AEDI and featured in our April 2023 newsletter.
The most recent case study highlights NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, a public-private community partnership. Through this program, students enrolled in a participating NYC public elementary school, starting in kindergarten, receive an automatic $100 initial investment into a “NYC Scholarship Account,” invested in the NY 529 Direct Plan. Families can also earn up to $200 in early rewards. Families are encouraged to open and connect their own college and savings account to continue saving for their child’s future. Communities can also contribute targeted deposits to groups of these scholarship accounts to help build significant assets for public school students.
NYC Kids RISE demonstrates how CSAs can expand the notion of wealth building for the economically disadvantaged from being exclusively an individual or even a government only responsibility to a community responsibility. We couldn’t agree more! Although we administer Keystone Scholars accounts, we want you to see them as yours to build on to build a brighter future for children in your communities!
You can read the NYC Kids RISE case study, here.
SNAP into BabySteps
Like Pennsylvania’s Bright Future Booster and Milestone pilots, which target supplemental deposits into the Keystone Scholars accounts of children whose mothers participated in WIC in 2021, Massachusetts has announced a benefit for participants in both the state’s BabySteps Savings Plan and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Beginning September 1, 2023, babies who are participants in both programs within one year of their birth or adoption are eligible to receive an additional monthly deposit of $10 into their MEFA U.Fund 529 account for one year. You can read more about this program here.
Partner Spotlights
The Chester County Imagination Library, an affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, is powered locally by Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH) in partnership with the Justamere Foundation and the Kennett Library. The goal of this program is to increase literacy levels for preschool age children living in Chester County, to provide opportunities for positive family experiences and engagement, and to foster a love of reading in the greater Chester County community. Children from birth to age five who live in Chester County can be enrolled in the Chester County Imagination Library program to receive a free book in the mail once a month.
In partnership with the PA Treasury, the Chester County Imagination Library includes Keystone Scholars bookmarks, which include a QR code to register accounts, with every book that is mailed.
Bring the Keystone Scholars Outreach Team to Your Neighborhood
PA Treasury’s outreach team is available to work with you in your community at events and gatherings to help grow Keystone Scholars awareness and registrations. Reach out to Barbara Holbert, Director, Outreach & Marketing, to discuss options and scheduling at bholbert@patreasury.gov or visit www.pa529.com/keystone for more details.
Keystone Scholars Partner Resources
Our website has partner resources and supplies, such as print, video, PowerPoint slides and e-resources, or you can contact us for in-person and virtual presentations. Let us help the kids in your community start their savings journey!
View Resources View Partners