Donation from Credit Karma will help fund the organization’s College Persistence Program and triple the number of students they’re able to support over the next three years

Credit Karma, a consumer financial technology company with nearly 130 million members, has teamed up with GenOne Charlotte, a local nonprofit organization who works with talented first-generation college students from under-served Charlotte communities, helping them successfully navigate to and through college. With this donation, GenOne will be able to triple the number of students they support over the next three years. In addition to the monetary donation, Credit Karma plans to partner with GenOne to create a career pathways rotational internship at their Charlotte headquarters for GenOne students who are entering their sophomore year of college.

According to a study by EAB, 90% of low-income, first-generation college students do not graduate on-time. GenOne is helping close that gap by identifying high-performing, rising eighth graders attending high-poverty public schools and involving students and their families in year-round academic and cultural programming. GenOne follows those students throughout their educational career, providing key resources to access and graduate from college. To date, 75% of GenOne’s first two college cohorts attend college debt free.

Credit Karma’s mission to champion financial progress for its nearly 130 million members aligns with GenOne’s mission to provide students with the resources needed to set them on the right career path. The donation from Credit Karma will specifically help support GenOne’s College Persistence Program, which ensures incoming college freshmen have the resources they need to graduate, including monthly mentor meetings and access to an emergency fund. GenOne works with students on enrollment, identifying enrichment programs, building community on campus and extracurricular activities, navigating financial challenges, budgeting and career development.

“We are excited to partner with GenOne. The work they are doing with our students in the Charlotte community is paramount,” said Ashleigh Anderson, Head of HR and Talent at Credit Karma. “Credit Karma’s mission is to help consumers achieve financial progress, and financial progress often hinges on a person's access to resources and opportunities, like going to college. In fact, we did a study at Credit Karma that found nearly half of the Gen Z respondents felt uncomfortable with the idea of taking on student loan debt. By helping students who lack the necessary resources to excel in their education, we hope to put them on a clearer path to financial progress.”

“Right now, there are 3,000 students who are eligible for our services in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and we only have the resources to support 200 of those students. This donation from Credit Karma will enable us to triple the number of students we are able to support over the next three years and will fund our College Persistence Program,” said Ian Joyce, Executive Director of GenOne. “Around 33% of low-income students that enroll in college or university don’t show up for their first day of classes, known as the ‘Summer Melt’. Credit Karma’s donation will enable us to further develop our Summer Bridge initiative to get our students the resources they need to show up for that first day of class, and will help support them through their four years and beyond.”

For more information about GenOne Charlotte please visit https://www.genoneclt.org.

About Credit Karma

Founded in 2007 by Ken Lin, Credit Karma, an Intuit company (Nasdaq: INTU), is a consumer technology company with nearly 130 million members in the United States, U.K. and Canada, including almost half of all U.S. millennials. While best known for pioneering free credit scores, the company’s members turn to Credit Karma for everything related to their financial goals, including identity monitoring, applying for credit cards, shopping for loans (car, home and personal), auto insurance, savings accounts and checking accounts through our bank partner, MVB Bank, Inc., Member FDIC — all for free. Learn more about how Credit Karma members are making financial progress on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.

About GenOne Charlotte

Since 2016, GenOne Charlotte partners with talented, first-generation students from under-served communities, helping them successfully navigate to and through college. They identify high-performing, rising eighth graders attending high-poverty public schools in Charlotte and involve students and their families in year-round academic and cultural programming lasting through high school graduation. They cultivate social and emotional growth through cohort experiences, life skills training and mentoring relationships through the Navigator program. They advise college-ready scholars on higher-education school choice, financial aid, standardized testing, application submission and career planning. Lastly, they continue to support and connect Scholars with resources, enabling success through college graduation.

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