Free webinar for nonprofit staff on student loan forgiveness

Finally good news about student debt! I'm sure you've heard about, but the most compelling points from Biden's announcement just two days ago:

• Repayments paused until January of next year!
• Many low- and mid-income borrowers can get $10,000 and $20,000 forgiven
• Allows for certain kinds of work to be counted as Public Service that previously did not count

But one of the important aspects has been overlooked -- and it expires on Halloween! The PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) has a temporary waiver that allows certain kinds of loans to be forgiven that were not eligible, among other features. In short: if you thought that you weren't eligible, it's very possible that you are . . . but ONLY if you apply for the waiver before October 31, 2022.

With more than 160,000 nonprofit staff in California having student debt, we know that loan forgiveness is crucial to them and their families, but also to nonprofits. Many of those with crushing debt are first-generation graduates, women, people of color, people from lower-income families. We need these people to continue to serve and lead in our food banks, museums, disability centers, after-school programs, mental health clinics, and legal aids.

If you work for a nonprofit (of any type and in any job) please take the time to learn about the waiver and the new federal provisions. One way you can do so is to take the free webinar we are presenting on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at 11 am. We'll have a real expert: Celina Damian, the Student Loan Servicing Ombudsperson for the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CDFPI), who not only knows everything but cares deeply about how PSLF can help individuals and nonprofits, and through them, our communities.

You can register free here. You can also find materials for HR Directors and Executive Directors on how to help staff with student debt at low or no cost at our Nonprofit Student Debt site. CalNonprofits members can also free and low-cost individual help enrolling in PSLF and working through the system. Our work also includes advocacy in Sacramento on a variety of student debt bills, including appearing at a press conference earlier this month with Attorney General Rob Bonta on the California Student Debt Challenge.

Hope to see you at the webinar to learn more about how to qualify, and also how to join us in advocating for more debt relief and preventing future debt. Jan