The Gift of Education: Former Aggie Basketball Player Fills a Need

Aimee Hasson made some of her best friends while playing basketball for UC Davis. The university is also where she met her husband, with whom she is now raising two kids in Davis.

The story of her company, The Gift of Education, begins with the death of one of her UC Davis teammates and the birth of those two children. Here’s what happened, in her own words: 

When I was preparing for the birth of my first son, I was excited about all the new stuff that came with a new baby. The car seats, strollers, bouncy seats, toys–I wanted it all. I felt like I needed it all. I was caught up in believing that, in order to raise a happy child, it was necessary to have all this “stuff”.  I soon realized that children don’t need “stuff”. Children need love and attention. It also became obvious to me what I wanted for my children. I wanted them to be happy, healthy, confident and educated kids – the same goals all mothers have for their children.

In August of 2009, I learned a friend and former basketball teammate was ill with gallbladder cancer … In April 2010, Ashley lost [that] battle … She left behind four young children and her devoted husband Dave. At her funeral, I learned that Ashley had made a request to one of her husband’s best friends … to make sure that her children attend college. Despite great intentions, the efforts to raise money for the children’s college fund fell short.

It’s not that people didn’t want to help; it’s that helping was a difficult thing to do, logistically. The actual act of funneling donations from various parties into one account was cumbersome. And with that, The Gift of Education was born.

The site -- thegiftofeducation.com -- is essentially an “online gift registry for educational funds.” The site doesn’t actually hold the money; it simply bridges the gap between college savings accounts and anyone who would like to contribute to one, simplifying the process. 

Meet Aimee

Aimee Hasson went to high school in Anderson, Calif. She passed up multiple scholarship opportunities to come play basketball at UC Davis, and she’s happy she made that decision. She created lifelong friends, as you can see in the attached image, which features Ashley, her friend who passed away.

Hasson paid $362.52 per quarter to attend UC Davis; that’s less than $1,500 per year. California residents now pay $15,123 per year. Nonresidents pay more than $38,000. Multiply that number by four years and things start to get scary…

So, what does Aimee think of the tuition increases?

“It’s prohibitive,” she said flatly. “If something doesn’t change, a lot of families just aren’t going to send their kids to school.”

As tuition costs have risen, student loans have become the answer for many incoming students. Since financing an education means taking on interest, that already-expensive $70,000 education could end up costing $140,000 by the time the debt is paid off decades later.

The Gift of Education could potentially help students set aside some money before college, allowing them to minimize the prospect of post-college monthly payments and snowballing interest.

How does The Gift of Education work?

“It’s a really simple concept,” she said. “We’re truly just a vehicle.”

The Gift of Education doesn’t hold the donated money. What they do is simplify the donation process by relaying it from the donor to the college fund (bank account).

A child -- or even a newborn baby -- could have a profile created very easily, for free. You can include as little or as much information as you want. That profile can then be shared with friends and family in the same way you’d share an online baby shower registry. Basically, you provide the option of contributing to the child’s college fund as a gift.

You can imagine how it might be difficult (or even awkward) to come right out and ask friends and family members to chip in for your child’s college fund on his/her first birthday under normal circumstances. You’d have to come right out and ask for checks or cash.  

Sharing a link to a Gift of Education profile is far less intrusive and makes for a much easier donation process. It also alerts you anytime a donation is made, so you or your child can write a personalized thank-you note if you’d like.

How does Hasson fund the operation?

The Gift of Education charges a convenience fee for each donation. The handling fee for a $15 gift is $3.49. It goes up slightly for bigger donations, as you can see here. The maximum contribution is $500, for which the handling fee would be $13.99.

Another funding option for Hasson would be to place ads on the site, but she'd rather avoid that.  

“By promoting sales of products on our site, it kind of sends a mixed message,” she said. “We’re rethinking the idea of a gift.”

What's next? 

Hasson is in the process of adding recurring payments -- which means a family member (or anybody) could predetermine a small amount of money to be transferred into a child’s college fund every month/year/etc. 

She recently did a bit of Facebook marketing for the site and has seen it gain traction on the east coast and locally. The site also has its own Facebook and Twitter pages. 

The Gift of Education started as a page aimed at collecting donations for the children of Hasson’s friend Ashley. When Hasson saw that the site adressed an unmet need, she decided to carry the ball forward. Now she's prepared to share it with the masses.

Visit The Gift of Education to learn more about how it works. 

Like Davis Patch on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Get Free Newsletter