Carrie Randolph, executive director of Chattanooga 2, briefed the council on July 1 about the ‘‘Chattanooga Future Fund,’’ a five-year pilot program that seeds college- and career-savings accounts for Hamilton County kindergarteners and middle-school students.

Randolph said the program seeds accounts with $150 and works with the Tennessee State Treasury’s matching program to help eligible families access up to $1,500 in matching funds; she estimated at least 60% of families are eligible for the match. The accounts are structured like 529 plans and are restricted to qualified post-secondary expenses, including two- and four-year college, apprenticeships, workforce training, equipment and books.

Why it matters: Research cited by the presenter indicates that children with even modest savings in an education account are more likely to pursue and complete postsecondary training. Randolph said the program has enrolled about 2,500 students in its first months (March–May), investing more than $300,000 in seed accounts, and that partners including BlueCross BlueShield Foundation of Tennessee and local foundations have committed multiyear funding. Hamilton County and the city made initial investments; Chattanooga 2 said it budgets roughly $2,000,000 per year to meet program demand.

Council members asked operational questions about account restrictions, portability if a student leaves the county, and sustainability. Randolph said the seed funds follow the child while community seed funds generally remain with the program if the student leaves the county; the matched funds follow the child. The group asked councilmembers to help publicize the program to families.

No funding vote occurred at the meeting; the presentation provided context for ARPA and budget discussions on the council’s upcoming agenda.