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How the ‘NASFAA Gives Back’ Initiative Reinvests in Members

By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter

NASFAA Gives Back LogoFor the first time in two years, NASFAA kicked off its annual national conference in person on Sunday with the announcement of a new, year-long initiative that will support member institutions, who helped support NASFAA as we weathered the challenges of the pandemic.

The “NASFAA Gives Back” initiative will provide additional support for members as they continue to navigate ever-changing regulations and new challenges imposed by the pandemic, all while ensuring their students are best served throughout their higher education pathways.

“At NASFAA we’ve thought a lot about how we can support you, so you can support students, through this turbulence. Thanks in part to the steadfast support of its members, NASFAA is emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever,” NASFAA President Justin Draeger said during the conference’s opening session. “We are grateful to be in a position where we can double-down on our efforts to support you, our member institutions.”

The year-long initiative will make a number of tangible investments in the financial aid community.

As a part of the initiative, NASFAA will make a one-time $600 learning credit available to each member institution, which can be used on NASFAA training, events, products, or services over the next 12 months.

All NASFAA membership dues will be held steady, with no increases being scheduled for the next two years, 2022-23 and 2023-24.

NASFAA has been intentional about developing these initiatives and that’s why in 2021, the association convened a group of members to explore ways to support under-resourced institutions. Some financial aid professionals at these schools reported that they found the cost of NASFAA membership, or particular NASFAA services, to be out of reach. Using the work of that task force and feedback from NASFAA’s Financial Affairs Committee and Board of Directors, NASFAA is developing a scholarship fund to provide a temporary bridge for under-resourced schools, who may be facing financial hardship or distress, an opportunity to access NASFAA membership, tools, and resources.

Under NASFAA Gives Back, the Dallas Martin Endowment will also be expanded to permanently fund the Diversity Leadership Program.

Additionally, NASFAA will rethink future national conferences with a focus on affordable registration fees, community investment, and safety. This year is the first time in history NASFAA has decreased conference registration fees and the Board of Directors and NASFAA Leadership are beginning to reevaluate planned locations of future national conferences. Rather than having conferences in large cities where other groups typically hold events, we will identify smaller metropolitan areas for future conferences where the NASFAA membership can "Give Back" to recovering communities and invest in minority- and women-owned businesses and/or help bring commerce to communities struggling financially in the wake of the pandemic.

Under this initiative, members will find expanded access to certification and credentialing training, as well as more resources that will prioritize strategic community-building efforts to build guided pathways for members to more easily "find their people" within our association. 

Learn more about NASFAA Gives Back and be sure to follow along with all that's going on today on Facebook and Twitter using #NASFAA2022 and keep an eye on our 2022 Conference Summaries page for frequent updates throughout the conference.

 

Publication Date: 6/27/2022


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