Providence Promise

Providence (PVD) Promise improves access to high-quality educational experiences, particularly for historically underserved communities living in Providence, RI. Specifically, PVD Promise promotes early financial empowerment and family wrap-around services to provide a holistic foundation for Providence Public School and Charter School students and their families to save and prepare for education beyond high school. PVD Promise combines the most successful components of College Savings Account (CSA) programs, “College Promise” programs, and out-of-school time programs, each associated with improved outcomes for participants, especially low-income and students of color. Using its innovative and comprehensive model, PVD Promise offers a means of support to participants, the primary activities of which include-partnering with families to establish a strong, financial foundation for higher education. PVD Promise supports parents/guardians to open 529 CSAs for their children. Families commit to making monthly CSA contributions within their means, about 1% of their income-supporting families with asset-building. PVD Promise provides a $100 seed deposit to each new CSA. Additionally, students and their parents can earn up to $250 per CSA each month through an expansive incentive structure, which incentivizes hundreds of activities such as participating in financial empowerment programming or completing an SAT preparatory course-engaging students and their families in holistic family wrap-around services. PVD Promise offers robust, multi-disciplinary, and bilingual programs and engagement opportunities for participants that complement the financial foundation they are building. Programming is community-responsive, as member-led councils inform program topics and support facilitation. Furthermore, a number of participants serve on the Board of Directors