KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Nearly 40,000 individuals and organizations received support for tuition costs and repayment from GoFundMe fundraisers in 2024, the fundraising platform said.
- People have turned to crowdfunding as some federal student loan borrowers say their education wasn’t worth the burden that their debt causes them.
- While many fundraisers were started by the people with the need themselves, according to GoFundMe, others were launched by parent-teacher organizations, sports teams, clubs or other groups.
Thousands of Americans carrying student-loan debt are turning to their communities for help footing the bills. In many cases, those communities are showing up.
Nearly 40,000 individuals and organizations got help fundung tuition costs and loan repayment expenses from GoFundMe fundraisers in 2024, according to the crowdfunding platform. While many fundraisers were started by the people with the need themselves, according to GoFundMe, others were launched by parent-teacher organizations, sports teams, clubs or other groups.
One fundraiser was started by a friend of a Santa Fe nursing student and single mom of two who said she maxed out on her Pell Grant and opportunity scholarship during her last semester. “I am reaching out in the hopes that my community, who knows how hard I have worked and how far I have come, may be able to help me in this time of need,” she wrote.
The campaigns come as federal student loan borrowers face rising tuition costs and unexpected lawsuits regarding repayment plans have turned to their communities for help paying college costs.
“Everyone is in school in order to accomplish something professionally, and people are inspired to support those dreams and [to help people avoid] being burdened or prevented from [accomplishing] those dreams because of their debt,” said Margaret Richardson, chief corporate affairs officer at GoFundMe. “There is a real innate human desire to show up for people in those moments.”
Why Are Borrowers Reaching Out For Help?
There are 42.7 million federal student loan borrowers who have debt totaling almost $1.64 trillion, according to Federal Student Aid.
Among those borrowers, surveys indicate, are people who worry that their educations might not pay off: More than two-thirds of student loan borrowers said their education wasn’t worth the burden they now feel from their debt, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of childcare and education provider Bright Horizons.
Student loans have typically been considered “good debt” that offers a return on the investment due to the higher incomes that a college degree can provide. However, as tuition costs have increased over the years, more borrowers have been wary of student loan debt and turned to donation platforms to receive help with tuition, Richardson said.
Many borrowers also asked for tuition support because an outside circumstance, such as the loss of a job or a car accident, made it harder to pay back the debt, according to GoFundMe.
“While I hate asking for things, I know I’m too close to finishing this journey to give up now,”one student at the Berklee College of Music wrote. “Thus, I’m putting aside my pride and asking for help from anyone who feels it in their heart to give.”
Many borrowers have faced uncertainty with their repayment plans. Many federal student loan borrowers were pushed into forbearance, which made it impossible to work toward loan forgiveness after President Joe Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan and greater student loan forgiveness were struck down by federal courts.
“To be able to share this need, in some cases, an unexpected need with their community is something that is a real gift for people,” Richardson said. “To be able to say, ‘I need help,’ and for their community to show up for them, and be able to say, ‘We’ve got your back’.”