Pop-up nonprofit helps New Yorkers access $4.6 billion in student loan relief

A pop-up nonprofit saved 75,000 New Yorkers roughly $4.6 billion in student loans according to a report the organization released on the effort. Over the course of five months, PSLF.NYC partnered with upwards of 300 organizations to maximize awareness about an opportunity for loan forgiveness. 

The U.S.Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness, PSLF, program offers nonprofit and government workers with at least ten years of experience in the field forgiveness for their loans, so long as they have been making consistent payments. Despite a simplified PSLF waiver launching in the fall of 2021 and 250,000 New Yorkers qualifying, many were unaware of it. 

After having his own loans forgiven by the program, nonprofit leader Rich Leimsider created and led PSLF.NYC, a nonprofit dedicated to helping New Yorkers access the PSLF waiver before it expired on October 31. The effort managed to secure $325,000 in funding, and hundreds of partners who agreed to share information about the program. 

Of course, there were still roadblocks to bypass. 

“It sounds like a scam. You know, the single thing that we wanted to spread the word about, is also something that most of us get in our junk email on a daily basis,” Leimsider said. “The key points that were all absolutely true, special government program can save you tens of thousands of dollars, click here and act now, it just sounded way too good to be true. Trying to figure out how to help partners and individuals understand that this was a real thing was the biggest challenge.” 

With the help of public service announcements, flyers, and appearances in news outlets and social media platforms, PSLF.NYC and its partners managed to reach thousands of people. Thanks to a public relations firm Leimsider worked with, The Brian Lehrer Show, Politico, LinkedIn, and New York Daily News all shined a light on his initiative. 

“We had some really great organic social media pickups and then there’s a whole community of people on TikTok, for example, who really wanted to talk about financial strength,” Leimsider said. “There’s a particular community around supporting Black women around finances, which is really powerful to be connected to. We had a great relationship with an organization called Color of Change, which has tremendous media relationships all across the country, that helped elevate things.”

PSLF.NYC’s website received 150,000 visits and more than 20,000 people attended the webinars, with over 94% agreeing to apply for the program after. Knowing New Yorkers of color and low-income individuals were most affected by student loan debt, Leimsider prioritized diversity in their advertisements and messages that resonated with people from all backgrounds. 

This kind of outreach translated to millions of dollars in impact. Thirty-five partners who submitted data to PSLF.NYC, such as that public workers who leveraged the program received an average of $62,331 in student loan forgiveness, are estimated to have received a $449.3 million impact. This average exceeds the mean student debt amount by more than $20,000. 

The report concludes by citing the  benefits to short term campaigns and how a few resources can make a big difference. “It is interesting to think about other issues where other people have done so much of the work, and a little push, small amount of effort, small amount of resources can actually unlock huge opportunities for people,” Leimsider said. 

“It is most likely the biggest thing I’ll ever be a part of in my life,” Leimsider noted, reflecting on the program’s success.