College Goal NY is a collaborative public service project of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) and the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC). College Goal NY is comprised of numerous FAFSA completion events set in targeted areas throughout New York State which have a history of high financial need and submit a disproportionately small number of online FAFSA applications.
College Goal NY is part of a volunteer program, College Goal SundaySM, with a focus on helping low-income, first-generation families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the form necessary to qualify for many student aid programs to pay college expenses.
College Goal Sunday is owned and managed by USA Funds, which provides grants to support College Goal Sunday events nationwide.
In 2012, 39 states and the District of Columbia conducted College Goal Sunday events, helping more than 39,000 students and parents complete and file the FAFSA.
College Goal Sunday began in Indiana in 1989 as a joint project of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA) and the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI), with funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc., through which grants were provided to assist thousands of families with access to higher education opportunities.
From 2001 through 2012, Lumina Foundation provided funds and the model for College Goal Sunday.
Past financial support has also come from USA Funds, which, since 2002, has provided grants totaling nearly $2.9 million to support College Goal Sunday programs in 13 states. USA Funds' support helped establish College Goal Sunday in several states, including Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi and Wyoming.
The efforts of the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) also helped to expand College Goal Sunday throughout the United States.
