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Last Minute Gifts

December 20, 2011 by · Comments Off on Last Minute Gifts 

Last Minute Gifts, Searching for the perfect holiday gift for your college-aged child, grandchild or friend? Forget the mall, or a letter to Santa. With the cost of college continuing to rise, many students are simply asking for cash. Don’t believe it? Check your social networks. Chances are you’ll find friends, relatives, and neighbors online seeking funds to reach education goals.

Just where are these students? Many are on GreenNote, an online platform, through Cology Inc., that allows students to connect with social networks to ask for financial support. Participants pay a one-time $20 fee for unlimited donations from friends, family, community leaders and others through PayPal or a major credit card. Often these come in the form of micro-donations, but as traditional financial sources continue to diminish, larger donations are becoming more common.

“The increasing popularity of utilizing social media to solve personal challenges, and the financial gaps that exist through traditional lending, is the inspiration behind GreenNote,” explains Bill Hubert, president of Cology. “GreenNote helps students achieve higher education dreams by empowering their social networks to create very real results.”

More than 22,000 people have turned to GreenNote for assistance since its launch in October 2007 including single moms returning to college, traditional freshman and everything in-between. A sample of current students include:

— Grecia is a first-generation college student striving to become a dentist. She is asking for $1,500 and has received donations ranging from $10 to $200 to accumulate $830 so far. Donations have come from family, close friends and several anonymous donors.

— Catherine wants to go back to school, but is short $6,000. So far, friends and family have contributed $570 to help her on her path.

— Amber wants to study abroad in Greece this summer. She has received $445 of her $3,000 goal through 11 different donors — mostly family and friends.

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