Mott’s history with Children’s Savings Account
Mott’s staff and grantees have been at the forefront of the growth and development of the CSA field since its inception.
Children’s Savings Accounts
Children’s Savings Accounts reflect a simple belief: that every child deserves a strong start and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
For nearly three decades, the Mott Foundation has supported pilots, research and demonstrations establishing the evidence base that shows how CSAs can improve outcomes, especially for underrepresented youth.
Building on this evidence, we continue to support high‑quality model programs and networks that sustain a national movement so every child can benefit from CSAs. From 2015 to the end of 2025, the number of children with a CSA in their name grew from 103,000 to an estimated 7.7 million.
Research supported by Mott helped inspire the creation of the first nationwide effort to provide early wealth‑building accounts for children, known as Trump Accounts. Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the pilot invests $1,000 for every child born in the United States between 2025 and 2028.
What are CSAs?
CSAs, also known as child development accounts, are savings or investment accounts in a child’s name that begin as early as birth.
There are many types of child-focused financial accounts that differ in their goals, funding, eligibility and usage. CSAs are distinguishable by their purpose: to jumpstart savings for postsecondary education and foster a college-bound identity.
CSAs also share a unique combination of features:
- They’re held in trust by a public manager.
- The initial deposit is made by a public or private institution.
- Families can contribute additional funds.
- Financial education is embedded in the program.
- Accounts grow tax-free.
- Balances don’t affect financial aid or public benefit eligibility.
For CSA programs to reach children in low-income families, automatic enrollment is an especially important design feature.
Take Maine’s Harold Alfond College Challenge, a CSA program that deposits $500 into a savings account for every baby born in the state. Its original design required families to complete a two-step enrollment process, resulting in low uptake. In the first five years of the program, just 40% of families with newborns claimed their funds. Parents with more education and financial sophistication were more likely to enroll their children. This likely left out the families who would benefit most from the program.
After switching to automatic enrollment in 2014, the program reached 100% enrollment and allowed resources to be redirected from costly outreach to more productive family engagement and education. By May 2023, the Alfond program had invested $72 million for 145,000 children and catalyzed $197 million in family contributions.
What is the impact of CSAs on children and families?
CSAs help children and families build assets, develop sound financial habits and foster educational aspirations.
SEED for Oklahoma Kids was the first large-scale randomized trial of CSAs in the U.S. The study found that children who received an account at birth experienced lasting educational and developmental benefits: Families were more college-focused, saved more consistently and held higher expectations for their children’s futures than similar families without a CSA.
Research on San Francisco’s Kindergarten to College — the first municipal, universal CSA program — found that the accounts increased on-time high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment, especially for underrepresented youth. Interviews conducted with kids and their families in the program revealed that K2C fostered their college dreams, made saving for future education easier, regardless of income level, and reduced financial stress during the college transition.
Scaling CSA Success
From 2015 to 2025, CSA initiatives in states and municipalities grew from 50 to 129 programs. Today those programs operate in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
The Mott Foundation’s grantmaking supports the CSA field by bringing together researchers, practitioners and partners to ensure programs are effective and scalable. The Foundation’s long-term commitment to the asset-building movement means we have decades of experience supporting new initiatives that help build financial capability and educational opportunity for families.
“A Foot in the Door” tells the story of San Francisco’s Kindergarten to College program, which automatically opens a CSA for children when they start kindergarten.
Wabash County Promise illustrates how one Indiana community has invested in its future by encouraging local families to create CollegeChoice529 savings accounts when they register their children for school. Students in grades K-3 with 529 accounts increased from 6% to more than 72% during the first year of the program.
View full length version of this video.
Q&A With Benita Melton
Inside Philanthropy: At the Mott Foundation, A Persistent Evangelist for Children’s Savings Accounts
Planting the seed of desire to go to college early in a child’s life with a savings account produces lasting positive effects. This idea has galvanized the asset building movement in recent years.
Few people have been more intent on realizing the promise of this blockbuster idea than Benita Melton. And few foundations have stuck with children’s savings accounts for as long as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, which has promoted these accounts as an essential tool in the effort to reduce poverty and bring more marginalized young people into the middle class.
Recent news
Seeding the future: Large-scale study confirms children’s savings accounts from birth boost post-secondary prospects
A landmark study continues to inform and propel the growth of the children’s savings field.
Children’s savings field chalks up major milestones
More than 1 million children now have a savings account for their future education.
