PARENTS
Imagine Early is a groundbreaking program designed to transform everyday schoolwork into opportunities, empowering students in grades 4 to 8 to imagine their future early and earn up to $1,000 in early award scholarships for their education after high school.
Your involvement is crucial. By enrolling your child in Imagine Early, you express belief in their future and encourage them to dream big. You play a key role in connecting their daily efforts with future opportunities through meaningful conversations and support. Your engagement includes:
Please keep in touch. Following your student’s 8th grade year, we will mail you a Fund Statement each January. If we don’t have contact information for you, we can’t share your student’s Fund balance or inform you of important program news. Remember to tell us when you have a change in address, phone number, or email address.
Your 4th through 8th grade student may earn scholarships for completing regular in-school assignments and career/college preparation activities.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | |
| 4th Grade | |||||
| Goal Setting | $10 | ||||
| Reading assignments and reach goal in Q4 | $20 | $20 | $20 | $20 | |
| Math assignments and reach goal in Q4 | $20 | $20 | $20 | ||
| Language Arts essays | $20 | $20 | |||
| Savings Match (If $20 is deposited into 529 account each semester) | $20 | $30 | |||
| $240 | |||||
| 5th Grade | |||||
| Essay/Presentation | $20 | ||||
| College Go Activity #1 | $25 | ||||
| College Go Activity #2 | $25 | ||||
| Savings Match (If $20 is deposited into 529 account each semester) | $20 | $30 | |||
| $120 | |||||
| 6th Grade | |||||
| Goal Setting | $10 | ||||
| Reading, Math, and Language Arts assignments and reach 2 goals in Q4 | $35 | $35 | $35 | $35 | |
| Essay/Presentation | $20 | ||||
| College Go Activity #1 | $25 | ||||
| College Go Activity #2 | $25 | ||||
| Savings Match (If $20 is deposited into 529 account each semester) | $20 | $30 | |||
| $270 | |||||
| 7th Grade | |||||
| Essay/Presentation | $20 | ||||
| College Go Activity #1 | $25 | ||||
| College Go Activity #2 | $25 | ||||
| Savings Match (If $20 is deposited into 529 account each semester) | $20 | $30 | |||
| $120 | |||||
| 8th Grade | |||||
| Personal Career Inventory | $20 | ||||
| High School Course Planning | $20 | ||||
| College Application Essay | $20 | ||||
| Lifetime Earnings | $20 | ||||
| Personal Finance | $20 | ||||
| Compare College Costs | $20 | ||||
| Pathways to Success | $20 | ||||
| FAFSA 4Caster (parent) | $40 | ||||
| Watch video: “Paying for Career Training / College” (parent) | $20 | ||||
| Savings Match (If $20 is deposited into 529 account each semester) | $20 | $30 | |||
| $250 | |||||
| Total possible Early Award Scholarships for 4th-8th grade: | $1,000 | ||||
How can you earn scholarships for your student?
Your student can earn nearly all of these scholarships on their own by completing all their in-school work at a 70% proficiency. How do you as the parent earn scholarships for your student’s Imagine Early Scholarship Fund?
Savings Match
Deposit at least $20 into your student’s CollegeChoice 529 Direct account each semester and share your deposit activity with the Community Foundation.
8th Grade Only
Watch this 18-minute video about how to pay for career training or college and follow the directions for reporting completion.
*Rev. 8/23/2023 – Subject to change
This Fund, held by the Community Foundation, is where your child’s earned scholarships are deposited each quarter when they complete all their in-school work. Their Fund is invested in an age-based portfolio and hopefully grows over time.
Monitor the Fund via the online Fund portal:
This is Indiana’s tax-advantaged 529 savings plan designed to help people easily and affordably save for college. The money grows and can be withdrawn tax free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses. As you save for your child’s education, you earn savings matches for your child’s Imagine Early Scholarship Fund.
Monitor your account by logging into CollegeChoiceDirect.com:
In every semester that you deposit at least $20 into your 4th-8th grader’s CollegeChoice 529 Direct savings account, the Community Foundation will deposit a $20 savings match into your child’s Imagine Early Scholarship Fund. Tell the Community Foundation when you have saved by sending deposit activity to imagine-early@cfwabash.org by the last day of the semester.
Scholarships awarded in the senior year of high school have a limited ability to influence a 4th grader’s identity and to incentivize learning. As evidenced by Children’s Savings Account programs around the country, assets change the way children and parents think about the future and serve as a tangible commitment to and belief in the potential to pursue education after high school.
Any 4th-8th student attending a participating school in Wabash County may join the Program if they 1) enroll in a CollegeChoice 529 Direct savings account, and 2) complete a Participation Agreement.
Students complete their regular schoolwork. Each quarter, their teachers report to the Community Foundation whether students have completed the work attached to each scholarship.
Like traditional scholarships, Imagine Early scholarships can pay qualified educational expenses: tuition, fees, and books.
Upon acceptance and enrollment at a qualified post-secondary educational institution, a student may submit an official tuition statement to the Community Foundation. The student’s scholarships are paid directly to the institution. Imagine Early scholarship money can only be granted to institutions that accept federal student aid. A list of these qualifying schools is available at CollegeScorecard.ed.gov.
Scholarships remain in students’ funds until age 26, when the monies are returned to the general Imagine Early Scholarship fund to be earned by other students.
Preliminary research conducted by the University of Michigan shows that Wabash County students who participate in Imagine Early scholarships have higher state standardized test scores, stronger college-bound identity, improved social-emotional health, and a pattern of saving more money, and saving more often. Research on the program continues.
Now in the 8th year of operating Imagine Early scholarships, the Community Foundation has opened funds for more than 2,700 Wabash County students. Approximately 50% of Wabash County 4th-8th grade students are enrolled in the program. The combined assets of these funds total more than $1.3 million. The average fund balance for a 4th-8th grade student is $500.
CollegeChoice 529 is Indiana’s tax-advantaged 529 savings plan designed to help people easily and affordably save for college. The money grows tax free and can be withdrawn tax free, provided it is used for qualified higher education expenses. To encourage saving, Indiana offers a 20% tax credit of up to $1,500 for contributions made to the plan.
A student’s parent or guardian may enroll them in a CollegeChoice 529 Direct savings account. The enrollment form requires a date of birth and Social Security Number for both the parent (account owner) and student (beneficiary). Once the 529 account has been created, anyone with the account number or the Ugift code may make deposits.
Log in at CollegeChoiceDirect.com and transfer funds electronically (one time or recurring), or request a six-digit Ugift code that can be shared with friends and family. There is no credit card option. Contact the Community Foundation if you wish to pay with cash or money order.
To pay by check, write the student’s name and 529 account number and make out the check to:
CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan
PO Box 219418
Kansas City, MO 64121
You may be eligible for a 20% state tax credit, up to a maximum of $1,500 ($750 for married filing separately) for contributions to Indiana’s CollegeChoice 529 Savings Plan. While there are many 529 college savings plans available both in Indiana and nation-wide, only contributions made to this specific CollegeChoice 529 Savings Plan are eligible for this credit.
Log in at CollegeChoiceDirect.com and click Distribute: Request your funds. Or speak with a CollegeChoice agent at 1-866-485-9415 on Monday – Friday 8 AM to 8 PM EST.
A list of qualified expenses can be found at this link: CollegeChoiceDirect.com/home/frequently-asked-questions
There is a 10% withdrawal penalty, and the account owner must pay income tax on the earnings.
Interested in more practical tips?
Visit our blog for age-based tips on supporting your child’s academic journey, from creating a conducive study environment to engaging in community service together.
For more FAQs, tips for using your scholarships, and details on your earning potential through Imagine Early, contact us today!
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