Fundraising online helps poor students

Research by an online student crowdfunding organisation, Feenix, has concluded that students fundraising through the platform had an average household income of R173 000 per annum, which indicated low affordability.

The inception of the online crowdfunding platform was because many young South Africans’ tertiary education is being restricted due to them not being able to afford or not being able to be funded through National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas), bursaries or student loans.

The findings concluded that “70% of these students’ household income is below R100 000 per year, yet 88% of the students do not qualify for Nsfas funding”.

Other various reasons that these students did not qualify for Nsfas included: them being postgraduate students; fundraising for historical student debt; students have exceeded the years of funding allowed; or their degree type did not qualify.

“This group exemplifies the lack of student funding for many students as 56% of the students did not qualify for scholarships and bursaries, while 46% didn’t qualify for a loan in the 2020 academic year,” said Feenix CEO Leana de Beer.

She added that online crowdfunding which was associated with strictly funding businesses has come to the party and has begun funding tertiary institutions.

“It has become a popular tool that is being using by students to help raise the necessary money to pay for their tuition or resources needed to complete their studies. Many small donations by individuals and corporates that can easily add up to fund those in need,” de Beer pointed out.

Only 6% of the students included in the research stated that they had access to all resources during the Covid-19 lockdown period.

“During the national Covid-19 lockdown, we found that for students to survive and thrive with the transition to online learning, they need enough money to cover their living expenses and have access to resources such as data and laptops,” De Beer explained.

This encouraged the organisation to accommodate and offer its support to students in crowdfunding for the necessary resources and expenses that would help them continue and complete their studies.

“Many institutions assist students with accessing a wide variety of financial aid and funding for study-related costs such as fees, accommodation and books. Universities also offer merit bursaries based on your final Grade 12 results,” said Cara-Jean Petersen, student engagement manager at Feenix.

The tertiary funding options available in SA are: Banks, Nsfas, Isfap Funding, Fundi and Feenix.