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All Babies Born at Inland Hospital can receive $500 Toward Higher Education Through the Alfond College Challenge!

All Maine Resident Babies Born On or After January 1, 2009 Eligible!

The Alfond Scholarship Foundation, together with Maine hospitals, announced that through the Harold Alfond College Challenge, all Maine resident babies born after January 1, 2009 will be eligible to receive a $500 grant to start a NextGen College Investing Plan® account.

Through the assistance of the Maine Hospital Association, the Harold Alfond College Challenge has been extended statewide to all infants born in Maine or who become Maine residents before their first birthday, including those born at Inland Hospital.  The Alfond Grants are administered by the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME).

“It’s a wonderful program and we are very happy to extend the Harold Alfond College Challenge to babies born here,” said Courtney Cook, RN, Director of the Birthing Center at Inland Hospital. 

“Mr. Alfond created the Harold Alfond College Challenge with the hope that families, communities and businesses would rise to the challenge of investing in the future and educational aspirations of Maine’s children,” said Gregory Powell, chairman of the board of trustees of the Harold Alfond Foundation and president and chief executive officer of Dexter Enterprises, which administers the Harold Alfond Foundation.  “In doing so, we give the babies in Maine a great start to reach their dreams,” he continued.

The Harold Alfond College Challenge provides each Maine baby a $500 grant to start a NextGen® account for education beyond high school.  Working in partnership with FAME, the Alfond Scholarship Foundation will award a $500 grant to every NextGen account opened for newborn Maine residents. The NextGen account needs to be opened before the child’s first birthday.

To maintain families’ enthusiasm in the program and encourage further participation, all Alfond Grant recipients will receive quarterly updates that share factual and aspirational information about the value of continuing education, college savings and other related topics.

The $500 grant will be used as the initial contribution to open the NextGen account. There are no income limits on receiving the grant and while there is no requirement to add to the account, it was Mr. Alfond’s hope that families and businesses and possibly even communities would continue contributing to children’s NextGen accounts.

For more information on the Harold Alfond College Challenge please call 800-228-3734 or visit www.500forbaby.org.

Before investing in the NextGen plan, you should carefully consider the investment objectives, charges, expenses and risks of investing in the NextGen Plan. You should also consider whether your home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state’s 529 plan. Request a Program Description from FAME by calling 800-228-373 or online at www.500forbaby.org and read it carefully. NextGen is a Section 529 plan administered by the Finance Authority of Maine. Merrill Lynch is the Program Manager and underwriter.

About the Alfond Scholarship Foundation

The Alfond Scholarship Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established specifically to sponsor and support the Harold Alfond College Challenge.  This new foundation is a partnership of organizations and individuals who truly embrace Mr. Alfond’s philosophy, and includes representatives from the Maine Compact for Higher Education, FAME, the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System, the Maine Community Foundation, the Mitchell Institute, and at-large members that include representatives from MaineGeneral Health and the Maine Hospital Association.  To learn more about the Harold Alfond College Challenge, please visit www.500forbaby.org.