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Workforce & Education Investments, Education, Workforce & Economic Mobility, Pay It Forward Funds, Financing Tuition & Living Expenses
Three years after launching, the CO PIFF has deployed over $2 million in zero-interest financing to help hundreds of Colorado learners complete job training, with reports indicating substantial average wage increases for graduated outcomes-based loan recipients. This track record of impact demonstrates that removing financial barriers during training is key to workforce program completion and economic mobility.
Launched in 2023, the Colorado Pay It Forward Fund (CO PIFF) is an innovative workforce partnership with five Colorado philanthropies that aims to expand economic opportunities for low-income individuals by providing access to career-centered, high-quality job training programs.
Social Finance designs and manages the program, which consists of a variety of tools for supporting learners and training providers, including a zero-percent interest outcomes-based loan for learners to cover tuition or living expenses.
Three years post-launch, CO PIFF has supported hundreds of learners across seven training providers and is well on the way to deploying $8M+ in total into the hands of learners seeking training, better jobs, and economic mobility for themselves and their families. So far, for learners on whom we have data, average earnings increased from $28,540 before training to $42,000 afterwards — a 47% wage increase that reflects the efficacy of these training providers and the economic mobility outcomes CO PIFF has set out to achieve
On a recent visit to Colorado, Social Finance team members were able to meet participants and staff from several supported programs to hear about CO PIFF’s impact.
Denver Health’s Workforce Department trains Coloradans for living-wage healthcare roles as phlebotomists, dental assistants, medical assistants, medical laboratory scientists, and paramedics. Denver Health Hospital Authority serves as an employer sponsor that hires many graduates from these programs; soon, they will also offer loan repayment support for graduate-employees.
“I don’t see how I could have worked a full-time job while completing this program. This program is academically intensive and sometimes it is even hard to cook a meal after studying for 12 hours […] There are often a lot of hidden fees with loans, but getting this zero percent interest loan added padding to my budget and gave me a buffer,” said Caroline, Medical Laboratory Science student, Denver Health. Without the loan, Caroline shared that she would have taken on high-interest debt to go through the program.
“This program has really brought not only light to my world, but it has taught me more about myself in the last 3 months than the last 9 years in my last occupation. I know I am worthy of education. I am worthy of self-growth. Without this program, I would still be lost,” said Rose, Dental Assistant Program student, Denver Health. Rose previously put her goal of working in healthcare on hold as a single mother.
Bailey Hicks, the Program Director of the Medical Laboratory Science program described what she has observed in her cohort since learners have had access to the loan:
“They can divert the need to work to focus on schoolwork, and I do attribute the performance of this cohort to their ability to prioritize course work over work. It really takes the stress out of the picture when they don’t need to focus on food, groceries, and living expenses.”
CrossPurpose offers career training and wraparound support services to Coloradans working to overcome barriers to stable employment. Social Finance team members attended the graduation ceremony for CrossPurpose’s Leader program, where 35 graduates completed the six-month program and announced the jobs they had secured: CDL drivers, electricians, CNAs, bookkeepers, an IT specialist, and an oral surgery assistant, among others.
“I was at a crossroads, and I could have gotten a job anywhere, but what I needed was a community. At CrossPurpose I saw people just like me who had experienced similar things. I was even able to bring eight family members to CrossPurpose after me. My daughter went through the Legacy program, and she was able to buy a house and can go on vacations. There has been such a generational impact financially and emotionally for our family,” said Roxanne, CrossPurpose graduate, now employed as a career coach at CrossPurpose.
The Master’s Apprentice (“MAP”) prepares Coloradans for careers in the skilled trades, at no cost to the student. Social Finance team members heard testimonials from recent graduates describing how the living expense loan supported them during the program.
“The loan has been a saving grace, especially during the time I spent attending the program. It allowed me to have peace of mind financially while trying to dive into a new career field,” said Joe, Master’s Apprentice Graduate.
“It helped me be able to take fewer hours at my job while I was in MAP so I could put all my energy into the program. I’ve been working on a really cool project at Children’s Hospital [Denver], working on renovating new patient rooms and putting in new water pipes,” said Jackson, Master’s Apprentice Graduate.
ActivateWork prepares Coloradans for in-demand jobs in Information Technology. Social Finance team members met with leadership across the organization and observed the first career development session of their new cybersecurity cohort.
Notably, ActivateWork has seen positive effects of pairing the CO PIFF living expense loan with financial coaching. Learners who had access to both graduated at a rate 22% higher than those who did not. The organization attributes this in part to the role financial stability plays in helping students persist through the demands of an intensive program. This mirrors other recent findings: national IT training provider Per Scholas reduced its IT Support Training dropout rate by 23% by offering a zero-interest $3,000 living expense loan to learners (much like the one offered to ActivateWork students), suggesting that living expense support can be a critical lever for workforce training programs seeking to boost completion rates.
CO PIFF has recently welcomed three new training providers to the portfolio. The Public Education and Business Coalition supports aspiring teachers through alternative licensure residency pathways in Colorado, helping individuals earn a teaching credential while working alongside mentor teachers in the classroom. FreeWorld prepares justice-impacted individuals for careers in commercial truck driving, providing CDL-A licensing support, job placement services, and coaching. CCA BuildStrong Academy, based at the Community College of Aurora, offers hands-on pre-apprenticeship training in construction trades including electrical work, carpentry, and general construction skills, with career coaching and employer connections to support learners into employment. While these providers span different industries, training modalities, and learner populations, they share a common thread: a willingness to think creatively about how new financing models can help them expand and extend their impact.
CO PIFF training providers demonstrate a commitment to high-quality programing. At ActivateWork, learners receive accountability partners and professional readiness skills at week one. At CrossPurpose, learners receive six months of coaching alongside career training. At Denver Health, an employer is investing in the education of its future workforce. At The Master’s Apprentice, learners have financial literacy instruction and mock interviews with real employers.
Across these providers, CO PIFF’s financing supports economic mobility and skills development for learners: it allows them to reduce or eliminate supplemental work during training and, where applicable, prevents learners from taking on high-interest debt from other sources. Instructors and program staff at multiple sites noted improvements in persistence and performance that they attribute, at least in part, to learners having that financial stability.
Social Finance and CO PIFF are grateful to all of the partners who make this work possible and are looking forward to supporting more learners in the year ahead.
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In 2023, Per Scholas launched a partnership with Ascent and Social Finance to provide a zero-interest, no-fee loan of $3,000 to approved learners to cover living expenses while enrolled in their training program, which is…
