Inversant

Inversant works with low- to moderate-income families to build their capacity to achieve their higher-education goals. Families come to our program lacking financial resources and with insufficient confidence and knowledge to navigate the higher education process with their children—many who are the first in their families to attend college. Through an effective combination of savings incentives, family workshops, and scholarship assistance, we help families become “conversant” (knowledgeable) and fully engaged in what it takes to apply to, pay for, and succeed in higher education.

We aspire to:
- Enable more families to enroll their students in college.
- Prepare more families to help their students succeed in college.
- Empower more families to help their students graduate from college.

By giving families the tools they need to achieve their higher-education dreams, Inversant works to address prevailing imbalances in society, including unequal access to opportunity and disparities in educational outcomes by socio-economic status. Inversant’s overarching goals include:
- Encourage, empower, and promote smart college-savings habits in low-to-moderate income families.
- Strengthen community and school-based support to increase program awareness, interest, and completion rates.
- Make college affordable and accessible for all low-to-moderate income families through scholarship and grant education

Inversant empowers low- to middle-income families through a three-pronged approach: motivating families to establish matched college savings accounts, providing family workshops and counseling, and helping families apply for scholarships to minimize college debt.

Evidence indicates that parents who establish college savings accounts are more likely to see college as a goal for their children, and students from low-income families with $500 in savings are three times more likely to enroll and four times more likely to graduate from college. Recognizing the critical importance of college savings to help families cover costs, Inversant actively promotes and facilitates the establishment of college savings accounts (CSAs), supporting families through the process and providing a savings match. As a result, families build trust and familiarity with financial institutions, improving financial outcomes for students and families alike.

Family workshops and one-on-one counseling cover a broad range of college access topics, including standardized testing, higher education costs, the college selection and application process, how to establish a college savings account, and how to identify and apply for scholarship assistance. We provide instructors fluent in the participants’ native languages, allowing families to fully and comfortably engage with the material.

As part of our effort to help families minimize college debt, Inversant works to increase students’ capacity to identify and apply for college scholarships. Inversant staff works closely with families and students as they complete scholarship applications for Inversant’s two scholarship opportunities. Students receive constructive feedback and support that helps them refine their writing and presentation skills, in addition to potentially reducing their college debt.

Inversant’s model of direct, whole-family engagement is unique in the CSA program field, and we have proven it to be effective. In the past decade, Inversant students and families have achieved tremendously positive outcomes, demonstrating the power of our saving/learning model and supporting efforts to further expand the program. As part of an institution-wide effort to improve access, Inversant is working to make all of our content available online, providing a flexible way for families with different learning styles, schedules, and personal circumstances to access Inversant’s content.

Inversant’s mission drives us to expand college access opportunities to an ever more broad and diverse audience, and we are prepared to do so. Our service delivery model combines established savings accounts; an engaged low- to middle-income population; and the field and technical expertise to deploy effective remote education and financial aid options.

lnversant has a racially and ethnically diverse staff with native speaking ability in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Mandarin Chinese. Inversant’s CEO, Dr. Charles Desmond, was the former Chair of the MA Board of Higher Education and brings broad advocacy and partnership development expertise. The 19-member board has backgrounds in education, finance, fundraising, marketing, and governance, and reflects the communities we serve. Inversant’s Board of Advisors, composed of former educators, higher education administrators, as well as Inversant parent program alumni and student alumni, provides additional insight. A team of volunteers further supports the organization’s mission.

In our short history, Inversant has achieved dramatic results for students and families, demonstrating the power of this saving/learning model and supporting our efforts to expand the program further to maximize impact.

- We have taught more than 500 workshops to at least 20,000 attendees.
- Our 1,800 families have saved more than $1.6 million (matched by Inversant to equal $2.8 million) by opening 2,000 savings accounts and intentionally building a habit of savings.
- An impressive 94% of Inversant's high-school graduates have gone to college. Close to 90% remain enrolled in college after one year, a persistence rate much higher than the national average (68.7%).
- At least 74% of Inversant students attending four-year colleges graduate within six years, higher than the national 6-year graduation rate (59%).

Families who join the Inversant program gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to save for college and make informed decisions in their pursuit of higher education. In pursuit of our overarching goal to make higher education attainable for everyone in the United States, we know we must continually refine our approach in response to current events and community needs. The global COVID-19 crisis acted as a catalyst, prompting Inversant to accelerate implementation of a web-based infrastructure that will improve the efficiency of Inversant’s student aid programs, enhance access to remote education, and reduce barriers to programming. We are designing our digital lessons for delivery over smartphone , not just desktop/laptop because we can't assume all participants have computers at home. As we systemize and scale our programs, we will leverage our expanded capacity to serve more families, increasing our impact across the state and, eventually, the nation.

At a recent board meeting, the board and staff affirmed the following priorities for the next several years:

- Increase the number of low-income, college-bound students we serve: Economic insecurity should not keep people from attaining the education and credentials they need to achieve their goals. We will increase outreach and reduce barriers to access, ensuring we serve a growing number of low-income students.
- Develop more robust local partnerships: We recognize that our community has valuable skills and a vested interest in improving the lives of the next generation. We will work with our board and community supporters to increase productive collaboration with local businesses, providing increased opportunities for Inversant students to succeed.