When you donate to The Aunt Betty Fund, the useful question is where the gift goes. The donor, grant, and scholarship pages give the same answer: the money is aimed at student debt taken on to pay for higher education.
The Aunt Betty Fund is a nonprofit with that mission. Its platform steers scholarships, grants, and gifts to students and graduates most in need. It is a federally approved public charity under Section 501(c)(3). You can give one time, or you can give monthly.
The gift is aimed at the debt
For donors to scholarship or gift programs, The Aunt Betty Fund covers all overhead and transaction fees, so that 100% of your donation goes directly to the recipients' financial aid or student loan accounts. There are no fees for student loan borrowers or donors on the platform.
A program gift, or a gift for someone you know
A gift to an Aunt Betty Fund program is the tax-deductible path. An experienced committee selects the applicants. Sponsoring a family member, friend, or employee is different. You can still fund a one-time or monthly gift, and you can see its effect firsthand. The fund verifies identity and loan details and sends the funds directly to the loan servicer, unless you instruct otherwise. When you choose the recipient, the gift is not tax-deductible.
Either way, the published design is the same. The money is not a general cash gift. It is sent toward tuition and fees, or toward the loan.
How the fund decides who is helped
Identity, income, and the loan
The fund verifies the identity, income, and loan status of grant applicants. It says fraud is not uncommon in grant programs, and that it uses several methods to confirm that an applicant's need is legitimate. Scholarship applicants are checked for identity and student loan status before an award is considered. Information a borrower provides may be verified through a soft pull of a credit report, which the site says has no impact on a credit score. A scholarship, gift, or grant application may also ask for a government-issued ID, paystubs, or a tax return.
A selection committee, then the servicer
An experienced Selection Committee reviews applications. For grants, volunteers from nonprofit work determine which individuals need the aid most. For scholarships, the committee looks for applicants who are qualified and who have demonstrated need. The fund looks for people who have put their college degrees to good use while showing leadership, character, contributions to their community, and financial need.
The award is then paid to the place that holds the bill. Grant funds go to the loan servicer to pay down the balance directly. For a scholarship, the fund works with the student to decide whether the money goes to the financial aid office or to the loan servicer.
Who the help is for
Scholarships are given before or during college, based on track record, character, financial need, and potential. In 2025 the fund began offering need-based scholarships with colleges and with corporate and individual donors, each one custom-designed for deserving final-year students who need help finishing a degree and starting a career.
Grants are given after college, on those same grounds. They are for people who have postponed life's goals or who may be struggling with student debt. The signature grant of $100 per month is for borrowers whose income is below average compared with their debt. The fund also features a grant program for public school teachers, described on the donor page as carrying an average debt of $54,600 while the average entry-level teacher salary is $38,617.
The donor page cites an average student loan payment of $503, from the Education Data Initiative. The standard plan is 10 years, but the average student takes 20 years to pay the loans off. A typical college graduate pays $350 a month, and a grant or gift of $100 a month will typically shave 2 ½ years off that payoff. Graduates report delaying marriage, children, a home, or a car. The home page states that the average American who earns a bachelor's degree takes on $40,000 in debt and pays $350 a month for 10 to 20 years.
Give once, or give every month
You do not have to retire a whole balance. A one-time gift and a monthly gift both support the same mission: steer help to students and graduates most in need, after the identity and the loan have been checked, and send the funds to a servicer or a financial aid office.
Donate now to The Aunt Betty Fund. For the longer account of donor programs, visit Become a Donor or Give Help.
