New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation
Financial ServicesNew Mexico, United States11-50 Employees
The New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation (NMEAF) is a private nonprofit in the financial services sector, established by the New Mexico Legislature in 1981 and based in Albuquerque. It focuses on helping families plan, prepare for, and pay for college across the state, treating post-secondary education as a significant investment. The foundation promotes higher education across New Mexico's diverse school districts and provides resources for financial planning to fund post-secondary education. It operates as a small to mid-sized organization conducting community outreach to support low-income, first-generation, and other disadvantaged groups. The foundation's programs include private student loans and refinancing with borrower benefits, a higher-education council that partners with New Mexico public colleges to promote college access and provide scholarships to NM high school seniors attending NM colleges, and a College Connect NM outreach initiative linked with statewide nonprofits to assist families in saving, planning, preparing, and paying for post-secondary education. A recent development is the November 2023 collaboration with state education agencies and public colleges to waive college application fees during National College Application Month, highlighting a shared effort to reduce barriers to application.