Prodege’s Derek DeLorenzo on Upromise’s Rewarding College Savings Opportunities

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To mark the start of National College Savings Month, we caught up with Derek DeLorenzo, Prodege’s Senior Director, Upromise 529 Programs to learn more about exciting new initiatives from the newest member of the Prodege family. 

Derek is proud that since launching in 2000, Upromise has provided over $1.1 billion in rewards to Upromise members who are diligently saving for their children’s college education. He expands: “I’ve had the benefit of working with 529 plans for the past 20 years. There’s a great feeling when you work with an investment product that helps so many people plan and save for their future. Every conversation is based on fulfilling an intimate financial goal that is important to the parent or grandparent. Upromise membership is a smart and easy way to enhance your college savings goal.”

Derek DeLorenzo

As for innovative new promotions to further reward Upromise members, Derek elaborates: “We’ve recently introduced a Restaurant Rally promotion that doubles new dining rewards through the end of the year. In addition, we launched the Upromise 529 Scholarship Program in early August where we will give a $529 scholarship to five Upromise members every month. We’ve also added 529 education and 529 plan search capabilities to Upromise.com. This is just the beginning of the activity we have planned as we continue to create opportunities for our members to save for college today and into the future.”

Derek has many helpful suggestions for parents navigating their way through college savings. “I tell everyone to start early and save regularly through an automatic contribution program.  Remember that every bit helps. You don’t have to do it alone and there are many ways to include family and friends, as well as free savings from Upromise. Lastly, 529 College Savings Plans are designed specifically to save for college, offer excellent tax incentives to account owners and are easy to set up and maintain. Saving for college can be a long process but the savings add up and it’s worth the effort.”

Read more about Upromise’s latest consumer initiatives here!