ESA AND MICROGRANT FAMILY IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES
Opportunity
Families increasingly have new opportunities to shape their children's education as states launch education savings accounts (ESAs) and microgrant programs. These programs provide families with funding to cover a range of educational expenses, including school tuition, tutoring, therapies for special needs students, and instructional materials.
Despite their proven potential, ESA and microgrant programs often present navigation challenges, particularly for families from low-income or rural backgrounds. These barriers not only affect families but also create hurdles for state agencies administering these programs. Tackling these implementation issues for our state partners is central to Outschool.org’s mission to ensure access and support for all families seeking educational resources.
Why Outschool.org
What sets Outschool.org apart is our dual expertise: we work directly with families while partnering with state agencies to improve program outcomes. For example:
In partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, we designed and executed a marketing program that engaged 12,500 low-income families as part of the state’s $68 million microgrant initiative.
In partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education, we support families in navigating and accessing the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program. This initiative provides $6,000 ESA scholarships to nearly 3,000 students in its first year.
By bridging the gap between families and state agencies, Outschool.org has supported more than 125,000 learners and their families and has helped administer nearly $100M in state funding and private philanthropy directly to families. Outschool.org is committed to continuing our work empowering families and strengthening the long-term success of educational scholarship programs
Services
Recruitment & Awareness
Customized outreach campaigns, including emails, SMS, social media, digital ads, and live online events, to drive awareness and enrollment of eligible learners. Services also include multilingual and hands-on application assistance to drive enrollment.
One-on-one family coaching, family-facing resources, and vendor recommendations so parents can choose the options best tailored to their children’s learning needs and fully utilize their scholarship dollars.
Family Information & Navigation
Expert technical assistance and advising in ESA program design, policy, rules guidance, and leverage analytics to drive program improvements and ensure long-term success.
Program Design & Improvement
Impact
Net Promoter Score (NPS) from families
83
Amount of funding Outschool.org helped families exhaust, which would otherwise have been forfeited
$4M
Percentage of 12,500 low-income families we reached
100%
Number of inactive families at risk of being withdrawn from the program whom we converted to active users
1,800
Monthly spending rate was doubled from January to May 2024
2x
Kind Words From Our Community
“Outschool.org brought on an approachable team, strong systems, and technology...I fully support their continued efforts and strongly recommend them.”
“Outbridge has been phenomenal in co-designing work that increases likelihood our scholarship recipients in our program truly benefit from the opportunity. Outbridge truly meets scholarship recipients where they are and collaboratively moves families forward to successful outcomes.”
“When I needed help, I received professional and caring attention from the representative handling my request. That helped me maximize the value received using the grant. The grant itself was very positive for both my kids.”