About MESA

The MESA College Initiative is a partnership between CASA of Oregon, and select high schools, colleges and universities across Oregon. The MESA College Initiative was designed to create access to post-secondary education individual development accounts for Oregonians with limited financial resources who have aspirations to pursue a post-secondary course of study.

Partnership objectives are to:

• Increase the number of underrepresented students with limited financial resources enrolling into post-secondary study at select Oregon institutions;
• Increase the number of participating students graduating with the skills to immediately impact the region’s workforce needs;
• Decrease the amount of debt with which a student graduates;
• Encourage, reinforce and model positive financial practices for students.

Every dollar a student saves in MESA is matched 5:1. Students are able to set intermittent goals to draw down from their savings and match once every twelve months, or at the end of their entire savings period. Students must save for a minimum of six months; the maximum savings period is thirty-six months.

Based on its sister program VIDA, a collaborative of agencies offering access to individual development accounts to their constituents, the MESA College Initiative partners directly with post-secondary educational institutions instead of with non-profit agencies and housing authorities, as in a traditional individual development account partnership. CASA of Oregon serves as the administrator and fiduciary organization of both the MESA College Initiative and the VIDA Collaborative.