GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is the day many people set aside to give. For The Aunt Betty Fund, it is also a plain moment to talk about a burden that does not pause for the holidays: student debt taken on to pay for higher education.
A day of giving will not erase that debt. It can still move a balance, shorten a repayment, and remind donors that the people carrying the loans are trying to get on with their lives.
Why giving on this day matters
The Aunt Betty Fund's public pages describe a wide problem. More than 40 million Americans, including 60% of women who earned bachelor's degrees, continue paying for their education for 10 or more years after they graduate. A typical college graduate pays $350 a month on student loans. On the home page, the fund 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.
Young adults paying off student loans report that they have had to defer some of the most important decisions of their lives: getting married, having a child, buying a home or just a better car, or shifting to a different line of work. The home page puts the same idea in national terms. The amount of student debt hanging over the U.S. economy is now greater than total credit card debt or total car loans, and the financial well-being of 43,000,000 borrowers has been seriously damaged.
That is why a shared day of generosity still matters. People who already give can do it together, on purpose. People who have meant to help have a date to act. The gift does not have to cover the whole balance. The fund describes a practical scale: receiving a grant or gift of $100 a month from The Aunt Betty Fund or its Family & Friends program will typically shave 2 ½ years off the time it takes a typical graduate to pay off their loans.
How a gift to The Aunt Betty Fund helps
The Aunt Betty Fund is a federally approved public charity under Section 501(c)(3). Its mission is to reduce the burden of student debt taken on to pay for higher education. Its secure platform helps steer scholarships, grants, and gifts to students and borrowers most in need.
Grants, scholarships, and the loan
A tax-deductible gift to an Aunt Betty Fund program lets an experienced committee select the most deserving applicants. The signature grant of $100 per month is designed to get maximum mileage out of a donation while offering genuine relief and faster loan paydown to borrowers who have below-average income compared with their debt. The fund looks for applicants who have put their college degrees to good use while demonstrating leadership, character, contributions to their community, and financial need. It also features a grant program for public school teachers, whose work is invaluable and whose salaries are generally low in comparison with the cost of their education.
Scholarships are given to a student before or during college, based on track record, character, financial need, and potential. Grants are given after college, on those same grounds. In 2025 the fund began offering need-based scholarships in partnership with colleges and with corporate and individual donors, each program custom-designed for deserving final-year students. Need-based grants send funds to pay down the loans of deserving borrowers, directly to the loan servicer.
For donors to scholarship or gift programs, The Aunt Betty Fund covers all overhead and transaction fees, so that 100% of the 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.
Give on GivingTuesday
One time, monthly, or for someone you know
You can give one time, or you can give monthly, to help borrowers with demonstrated financial need get out of student debt faster. Both are published ways to support the mission.
If you would rather help a specific person, Family & Friends is a different path. You can fund a one-time or monthly gift for a family member, friend, or employee. The fund verifies the identity and loan details of recipients and sends the funds directly to the loan servicer, unless you instruct otherwise. When you select the recipient, that gift is not tax-deductible. A gift to the fund's own programs is the tax-deductible path, and the committee chooses who receives the help.
This GivingTuesday, aim the gift at the debt.
Donate now to The Aunt Betty Fund. To read how donor programs work before you give, start at Become a Donor.
