Nonprofit staffers qualify for college loan forgiveness

From the National Council of Nonprofits

Have you had difficulty recruiting college talent because graduates find themselves burdened with student loans? Are you anxious to retain your college grad staff members who are finding it hard to live on nonprofit salaries? If so, read on.

Here’s a benefit to help recruit college graduates who find it hard to work for nonprofits due to the financial burden of their college student loans. Last year, HANO's national organization, the National Council of Nonprofits , lobbied Congress to include nonprofit staff in the loan forgiveness benefits of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and was successful.

The Department of Education recently issued regulations that clarify important aspects of the loan forgiveness benefit law. Nonprofits can now alert their job candidates and staff to this potential benefit.

The way it works: If I’m a college graduate facing more than ten years of loan repayments and if I work in “public service jobs,” -- including working for a nonprofit -- for ten years while making monthly payments on my loan, I can ask to have the balance of my loans forgiven. So basically, ten years of public service earns the dividend of canceling the rest of my college debt.

Click here for more specific information about the benefit on this question and answer sheet on the NCN web site, which can be used as a notice for your staff and during your hiring process. It should not be viewed as legal advice, however, and questions from employees about specific application should be redirected to the Department of Education. This website, may also be helpful.

In addition, the Nonprofit Congress Blog now includes information about the College Loan Forgiveness benefit.