The First 5 Futures Program is no longer accepting new enrollments.
Families with an existing First 5 Futures account can continue to access their account here.
First 5 Futures provided eligible children ages 0–5 with a free college savings account funded by First 5 Sonoma County through grants from the City of Santa Rosa and the California Student Aid Commission. Eligible participants received up to $700 to support future college or career education expenses after high school graduation.
First 5 Sonoma County’s First 5 Futures Program envisions that every child age 0-5 (beneficiary) will have two savings accounts. First 5 Sonoma County will setup the first account for the child with ScholarShare529. ScholarShare is a 529 college savings plan for the State of California. First 5 Sonoma County will use this account platform to invest up to $700 in an investment plan for every child who is participating in a First 5 funded program offered at a Family Resource Center with the opportunity for additional incentives after completing a qualifying program.
The second account can be established directly by a parent or guardian of the child. First 5 Sonoma County has partnered with Family Resource Centers across Sonoma County to assist families in setting up individual college savings accounts.
Parents or guardians will be able to access account balances on both accounts through Outcome Tracker, a designated program management system.
To access your First 5 Futures account visit: https://www.vistashare.com/p/first_5_sonoma/first-5-sonoma-county/login/
Research shows that children from families who save between $1-$499 for education are 3x more likely to attend college and 4x more likely to graduate, compared with those with no college savings.
When you save and invest now, the money you save can grow and be worth much more.
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged investment plan designed to help families to save for a beneficiary’s (typically one’s child or grandchild) future higher education expenses.
