Program Guidelines

College Savings Match

Documentation Required Before College Enrollment & Initial Scholarship Payment

For the Program to pay an awarded scholarship, each awardee must enroll in college for the fall semester immediately following high school graduation at an institution in the KC Scholars College Network.

College Savings Match recipients are awarded in 9th grade. However, the awardee must continue to meet eligibility requirements throughout their remaining high school career for the Program to pay an awarded scholarship.

To verify that a scholarship awardee remains eligible to receive the scholarship for the first year of college, it is required that additional documentation be submitted by awardees to the Program prior to first fall enrollment. All documentation must be submitted on the online scholarship portal. The table below lists documentation required for the recipient to remain eligible for the scholarship. Failure of an awardee to submit the required documentation by the deadline stated in the scholarship portal may make the awardee ineligible to receive a scholarship.

College Savings Match
Documentation Required to be Submitted During Senior Year of High School for College Savings Match Awardees.	Documentation of SAI per FAFSA Submission Summary (must remain 12,000 or less) or other financial documentation if not eligible to complete FAFSA College admissions letter College Enrollment Plan verifying fall enrollment Authorization for Release of Information

Early High School Graduation

For Scholars who graduate high school a year early (the 3rd year of high school is the senior and final year), the incentives opportunity will stop May 1 of the academic year of high school graduation. Scholars must inform us of their early graduation date at the beginning of the academic year of their high school graduation (by September 31). Scholars will be eligible to receive any earned incentive funding. Earned match and/or incentive funds will be paid out to the college of enrollment (student must be enrolled full-time at a campus in the College Network) the fall immediately after high school graduation.

529 College Savings Account and Match and Incentives Program Guidelines

Participation in the 529 College Savings Account/Match Program and the Traditional Student Scholarship in the Program:

Under the Program, a student is eligible to be in the 529 College Savings Match Program and apply for and be awarded a Traditional Scholarship.

Qualified Withdrawals:

When funds are withdrawn from a 529 college savings plan for qualified, college-related expenses, the account owner will pay no federal or state income taxes. Qualified withdrawals may be used for any qualified educational expenses at institutions, anywhere in the United States. Qualified institutions include accredited public or private colleges or universities, graduate schools, community colleges, and vocational and technical schools. Qualified expenses include tuition; mandatory fees; required books, supplies and equipment; and certain room and board expenses. However, unless the Program approved an exception because of unusual circumstances, match and incentive payments will only be made to institutions in the College Network. Scholars who elect to attend a non-network college will forfeit their match and incentive awards.

Tax Implications:

When funds are withdrawn from a college savings (529) plan for qualified college-related expenses, the account owner will pay no federal or state income taxes on contributions or on any investment earnings.

Kansas residents may receive an annual adjusted gross income deduction of up to $3,000 ($6,000 if married, filing jointly).
Missouri residents may deduct their contributions of up to $8,000 ($16,000 if married, filing jointly).

This information does not constitute tax advice and contributors who are relying on a contribution to a 529 Program for tax benefits should consult their tax advisor to understand tax consequences of the investment before making a contribution.

FAFSA Reporting Implications:

The value of a 529 college savings account owned by a dependent student or one of their parents is considered parental assets on the FAFSA and must be reported as assets on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Though these contribution amounts are often not enough to change a student’s eligibility for aid, the balance of a parent’s 529 college savings account will be considered by the FAFSA in calculating a Scholar’s SAI.

Contact Information for the 529 College Savings Accounts:

If a potential applicant or account owner has questions before, during, or after applying, they may have their questions answered by contacting:

The State of Kansas Learning Quest Plan: Call 1-800-579-2203 weekdays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., CT
The State of Missouri MOST Plan: Call 888-414-6678 weekdays, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., CT

Note that the MOST and Learning Quest offices will not be equipped to handle inquiries about the general Program. For specific inquiries, contact the Program using contact information on the last page of these guidelines.

Requirements Regarding Residence, Participation in Events and Activities, and College Enrollment:

Awardees in the 529 College Savings Match and incentive Program must attend all required Program activities; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the ability to earn a match and/or incentive.
Awardees must continue to attend and graduate from a high school in the six-county Program area to be eligible for the Program match and incentive. Students moving out of the six-county Program area will forfeit the ability to earn a match or incentive.
To receive the match and/or incentive, a student must enroll in college the fall immediately following high school graduation, must enroll in a College Network institution, and must enroll in college full-time.

529 Account Contributions:

If a 529 account already exists through the state of Kansas or Missouri 529 Programs, the student is eligible to apply for and awarded to participate in the college savings (529) match Program. However:
- - Only contributions made into the organization-related account for 36 months from the June following application (i.e., the date of the Orientation session attended) through May 1st of the senior year of high school – will be eligible to receive matching scholarship contribution
  - Any earned income will not be eligible for the match; only the base contributions made into the organization-related account will be matched.
  - Any funds in pre-existing 529 college savings accounts through Kansas and Missouri may not be transferred into the organization-related account.
There is no minimum amount of or frequency of ongoing contributions to the account; contributions may be made by anyone (even beyond the account owner and student) when they choose and in the amount they choose. An explanation of how to make contributions will be provided at the required Orientation session.
The earned match and incentive earned will not be provided directly to the student and account owner but will be paid directly to the postsecondary institution at which the student enrolls.
If the account owner changes the name of the beneficiary (student) at any time during the period after it is established and before the student enters college in fall immediately following high school graduation, the opportunity to earn a match and incentive will be forfeited.
Great Jobs KC, Inc. – KC Scholars Scholarship Program will receive account reports quarterly from the 529 college savings plan. The report will inform the Program of the amount of contributions to the 529 college savings account since it was established.
It is not required that the account holder cash out the account to use for college expenses when the beneficiary enters college to receive the match; the account holder may select to keep the account intact and cash it out to pay for a subsequent year of college for the beneficiary.

Examples of How to Maximize the Match on Contributions:

We will match the contributions made during the time of the Program (detailed above) but not on any increases in value that may have accrued after the contributions are made. Contributions made during the 36-month eligibility contribution period will be matched 1:1 up to a maximum contribution of $1,000 (thus the maximum match amount that we will make is $1,000).

Shown in the table below is the amount of contributions needed on average per day, week, month, and year to earn the maximum $1,000 match over the 36-month eligible contribution period.

	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Annually
Average Value of Contribution to Reach $1,000	$0.91	$6.41	$27.78	$333.33

College Planning Milestone Activities for Earning the Incentive for 2021 to 2023 Awarding Cohorts, Ending in 2023-2024 Academic Year

College Savings Match and Incentive awardees will also be eligible to receive up to an additional $400 incentive payments for completing college preparation activities designated by the Program. The milestones upon which incentive payments are contingent are set forth in the table below (which also shows the maximum total match ratio).

Note that only students selected to participate in the match Program are eligible to earn incentive funding. Students for whom a 529 college savings account has been seeded for them but are not in the match and incentive Program are not eligible to receive incentive funding.

For Scholars that graduate high school a year early (the 3rd year of high school is the senior and final year), the incentives and match opportunity will stop May 1 of the academic year of high school graduation. Scholars must inform the Program of their early graduation date at the beginning of the academic year of their high school graduation (by September 31). Scholars will be eligible to receive any earned incentive funding from 9th grade, 10th grade, and 11th grade (forfeiting the 12th grade incentives). Earned match and/or incentive funds will be paid out to the college of enrollment (student must be enrolled full-time at a campus in the Postsecondary Network) the fall after what would have been in 12th grade, or fourth year of high school had the student not graduated early.

Payments

Match and incentive funds will be paid directly to the college or university in the following way.
- - If the awardee is enrolled at a 4-year institution, the combined total of the match and incentive will be paid to the institution at which the awardee is enrolled over the first two semesters, in equally distributed payments
  - If the awardee is enrolled at a 2-year institution, the combined total of the match and incentive will be paid to the institution at which the awardee is enrolled, in equally distributed payments, over four semesters (two semesters each academic year of the first and second years of college) and in equal sums over the four terms/semesters.

Grade and Required Number of Milestone Activities to be Completed	Milestone Activities Menu	Incentive Value	Maximum Available Match (ratio of 4:1)
10th Grade Student must verify completion of at least 3 of these milestone activities, of which 1 must be the activity marked as “REQUIRED” at end of sophomore year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Student and parent attend a college savings or financial literacy activity Attend a career exploration event Attend a minimum of one campus rep visit to your school (or attend a college fair) Take the PreACT or PSAT Connect with your college adviser at least 4 times in the year (twice per semester) – REQUIRED	$100
11th Grade Student must verify completion of at least 4 of these milestone activities, of which 1 must be the activity marked as “REQUIRED” at end of junior year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Student and parent attend a college savings or financial literacy activity Attend a career exploration event Visit a minimum of one college campus Attend a minimum of one campus rep visit to your school (or attend a college fair) Take the PSAT Participate in an ACT/SAT Test Prep Program Take the ACT or SAT Connect with your college adviser at least 4 times in the year (twice per semester) – REQUIRED	$100
12th Grade Student must verify completion of at least 5 of these milestone activities, of which 2 must be the activities marked as “REQUIRED” by the end of senior year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Student and parent attend a college savings or financial literacy activity Attend a career exploration event Visit a minimum of one college campus Attend a minimum of one campus rep visit to your school (or attend a college fair) Participate in an ACT/SAT Prep Program Take an ACT or SAT Apply for a minimum of three scholarships Connect with your college adviser monthly (September-April) Apply to a minimum of three colleges-REQUIRED Submit the FAFSA by December 1-REQUIRED	$200
MAXIMUM TOTAL ON MATCH AND/OR INCENTIVES		$400	$1000
MAXIMUM GRAND TOTAL		$1400

College Planning Milestone Activities for Earning Incentive Starting in 2024-2025 Academic Year, Ending with 2025 Cohort

College Savings Match awardees attend an orientation session and then select from a menu of opportunities for their 3 subsequent years in high school to earn incentives. Awardees will be required to attend the Summer Orientation and connect with the Program Scholar Advocate consistently in addition to the milestone activities below. Experiential learning in the workplace has also been added with an additional incentive.

Grade and Required Number of Milestone Activities to be Completed	Milestone Activities Menu	Incentive Value	Maximum Available Match (ratio of 1:1)
10th Grade Scholars complete these four milestone activities by the end of their sophomore year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Connect with your Scholar Advocate monthly Attend large group Scholar Empowerment Sessions Parent/guardian will participate in two Parent Empowerment Sessions Attend a minimum of one campus rep visit to your school (or attend a college fair)	$100
11th Grade Scholars complete these four milestone activities by the end of their junior year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Connect with Scholar Advocate monthly Attend large group Scholar Empowerment Sessions Visit a minimum of one college campus and connect with campus personnel Parent/guardian will participate in two Parent Empowerment sessions	$100
12th Grade Scholars complete all milestone activities by the end of their senior year to secure grade-level incentive dollars.	Connect with Scholar Advocate monthly Attend large group Scholar Empowerment Sessions Parent/guardian will participate in two Parent Empowerment Sessions Visit a minimum of one college campus and connect with campus personnel Apply for a minimum of three scholarships Apply to a minimum of three colleges Submit the FAFSA by December 1	$100
Experiential Learning	Internships Apprenticeships Employment Student leadership Programs Service Programs	$100
MAXIMUM TOTAL ON MATCH AND/OR INCENTIVES		$400	$1000
MAXIMUM GRAND TOTAL		$1400

College Savings Match

Documentation Required Before College Enrollment & Initial Scholarship Payment

Early High School Graduation

529 College Savings Account and Match and Incentives Program Guidelines

College Planning Milestone Activities for Earning the Incentive for 2021 to 2023 Awarding Cohorts, Ending in 2023-2024 Academic Year

College Planning Milestone Activities for Earning Incentive Starting in 2024-2025 Academic Year, Ending with 2025 Cohort

Stephanie underwood - Chief financial Officer

Adult Learner College Scholarship

The Adult Learner Scholarship application is closed. Please click GET STARTED to be added to communication reminders on when to apply during the next open cycle.

Jimmy Swift - Chief Operating Officer