About Us · Our History

A community that invests in its kids, early.

Imagine Early is Wabash County’s promise to its children: that every child, from birth through 12th grade, deserves to imagine a future beyond high school and can start building it today.

Believing in our kids, one assignment at a time

Imagine Early is an early award scholarship program of the Community Foundation of Wabash County. It is community-funded, not a government program, and it’s built on a simple belief: the future doesn’t start at graduation. It starts years earlier, when children first begin to picture who they could become.

We help families across Wabash County take small, manageable steps early so that when bigger decisions arrive, students are more prepared, more confident, and less burdened by cost. You don’t have to have everything figured out today. Starting early changes what’s possible tomorrow.

How Imagine Early began

For years, Wabash County has had one of Indiana’s lower rates of adults with education or training beyond high school. The Community Foundation recognized that waiting until junior/senior year to talk about college, trades, and saving was simply too late to shape how a child sees their future.
"It started with the Wabash County Promise, an effort launched by the local YMCA to help every child open a 529 education savings account. The research behind it was striking: a child who has an education savings account, even one holding a single dollar, is up to three times more likely to pursue education after high school." Elliott, W., Song, H-a, and Nam, I. (2013).
Building on that foundation, with early support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Community Foundation created Imagine Early: small, quarterly scholarships that reward students for the schoolwork they’re already doing, paired with savings matches for families who save. What began with grades 4–8 has now grown to serve children from birth through 12th grade.

Five ideas at the heart of the program

Start early

Habits, expectations, and confidence form long before senior year.

Every path counts

College, trade school, certifications, apprenticeships… Imagine Early supports them all.

Community, not government

Imagine Early is funded by local businesses, organizations, and neighbors who believe in our kids.

No added burden

Students earn scholarships for work they already do; there is no extra homework.

Clarity over complexity

We make saving and planning feel possible, not intimidating.

A community-funded movement

Backed by a whole community

Imagine Early is powered by a national private foundation and more than 150 local businesses, organizations, and citizens. Today it is regarded nationally as a model children’s savings account (CSA) program and continues to be studied by the University of Michigan.

When we invest in a child's education early, we're investing in possibilities we can't yet imagine. An early award scholarship tells a young person, 'Your community believes in you.' It recognizes their potential today while helping them envision the future they can create tomorrow.

Alex Downard

CEO

OUR PARTNERS

Schools at the heart of it

Imagine Early works hand in hand with Wabash County schools, the trusted messengers who bring the program to life in classrooms: Manchester Community Schools, Wabash City Schools, MSD of Wabash County, and St. Bernard’s Catholic School.