For family and friends who may not know how to help the college student in their life, finding a meaningful gift could get easier.
Similar to an online gift registry, Lily’s List is a Web site that allows anyone with a student loan to sign up and create a profile page where friends, family and even businesses can donate money toward an outstanding loan, said Beverly Gibson, marketing director for Lily’s List.
The idea for the Web site came from a conversation Jennifer Taylor, president and founder of Lily’s List, had with her daughter, Lily.
“We discussed the cost of college, and we told her it could turn out to be a large number,” Jennifer Taylor said. “She was slightly horrified by that number.”
When they discussed options of how to keep costs down while still being able to go to the school Lily wanted to attend, there was no sure alternative. That is when they came up with the idea of creating the website.
“I asked her if she thought she would have the discipline to save money that people gave her as gifts, and she said, ‘No, I know I won’t,’” Taylor said. “It’s kind of a forced savings program.”
After launching in March, Gibson said the site is still in the beginning stages, but has 20 members signed up.
“Right now we’re just taking baby steps,” she said. “We hope to be running in a year.”
As the site grows, Gibson said she hopes more businesses will advertise and donate to the students on the site. Each week there is a “Student of the Week,” where an advertiser will make a donation toward a student’s loan, Gibson said.
There is a $15 fee to sign up, but the first 100 members will have $10 of that fee returned their loan account, Gibson said.
Gibson said students need to provide a copy of their monthly loan statement to verify the loan. If parents have the student’s paperwork, they can also sign the student up on the site.
Lili Chiquito, a graduate of Lewis University and mother of two, said she went straight to the website to sign up after reading about how it could help.
“I think the Web site is a phenomenal idea,” she said. “I’m amazed no one has thought of it before.”
While Chiquito said she only has the $10 from the registration fee deposited in her account, others have already received donations.
Brad Boiven, a student at Argosy University who is set to graduate in 2012, said he has received a few anonymous donations after he posted something about the site on Facebook.
“I’m telling everyone about it,” he said. “I don’t expect my entire loan to get paid off by Lily’s List, but I do think, as the site grows, there is potential for it to have a greater impact.”
Taylor said it will take a lot of students to make the program work, but as people find out about the program it may be an avenue for alumni from a university to give back to students attending the school.
However, SIUC Financial Aid Director Linda Clemons said she tells students to be cautious about the information they have to give to join.
“The first thing you need to worry about is giving out all of your personal data,” she said. “We strongly encourage our students to work with financial aid sites that are free because $15 won’t kill you, but $15 times 10,000 people is a lot of money to somebody.”
Clemons also said the same type of donations can be made through the U.S. Department of Education or the financial aid office, depending on the type of loan.
Taylor said she understands trust can be an issue for people, but if there are no complaints, people will see the site is not a scam.
“We are honest people who aren’t interested in scamming anyone, and we don’t have the means to do so,” she said.
Gibson said she hopes the site will help students as the cost of attending college continues to rise.
“It’s very overwhelming for many young people,” Gibson said. “We want to help students realize they’re not alone.”
Jacob Mayer can be reached at editor@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 268.
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