In a time of mounting college costs and harder to find jobs for graduates, SponsorChange gives student loan credits to college grads in exchange for community and non-profit work.
Launched in April 2009 with a grant from the Sprout Funds and support from Pittsburgh Cares, founders (and brothers) Raymar and Robert Hampshire’s vision is to help foster “a world where non-profit organizations are equipped with the resources necessary to have the highest impact in their community, country and the world.”
The Pittsburgh based program, recently featured on CNN, rewards individual service by mobilizing college graduates to complete service projects and raising funds from sponsors to reward their work with student loan payments that ultimately help both non-profits and graduates.
Raymar Hampshire, CEO, learned the ropes of civic engagement as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs; prior to that, he was a Wealth Manager in the Global Private Client Group at Merrill Lynch. His commitment to forging public-private partnerships grew out of these experiences.
His brother Robert, COO, holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton, and an associate professorship at Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. His passion for peer-to-peer lending underscores SponsorChange.org's platform.
In addition to the Sprout Fund and Pittsburgh Cares, partners include: BrandingBrand, Real World 101, Track Ahead, and Coro Center for Civic Leadership.
Their blog, The Philanthroteer, is a hub for information about higher education legislation, student loans, and volunteer opportunities, as SponsorChange leverages micro-donations to equip students as change agents and create an eco-system that better serves both college grads and non-profits.
It’s a model that supports the age-old adage, what blesses one blesses all. Here's more on the startup philanthropy brand's approach:
| Privacy Policy | About Us | Contact Us | FAQ 
