Hi Heather!

Thanks for all the great work you do. I’m sure you have saved many people from having a heart attack!

My question for you is…If I start my own non-profit (working 30hrs a week, being paid) rather than working for someone else’s does this count into the requirement for PSLF?  Is there anything in particular that I will need to look at (obstacles, particular paperwork)?  Any feedback on this topic would be incredibly helpful!

Thank you!
Michele

An excellent question and one you’ll find loads of dialogue about here: http://askheatherjarvis.com/forums/viewthread/29/

Darn, that link isn’t working.

Weird.  Let me figure it out…

Trying again just for kicks: http://askheatherjarvis.com/forums/viewthread/29/

I don’t know why that’s jacked up. The thread is in Public Interest Loan Forgiveness forum under “Student Loan Forgiveness for Nonprofit Founders”.  Use the search box at the top of this page and “nonprofit founder” search term.  Should get you there I hope.

Hey Heather,

The link still doesn’t work, however, I was able to find the content - super helpful! Thank you so much for your fast response. 

Some of my questions were answered through reading the posts.  However, I’m still not clear about how to document appropriately in order to obtain PSLF under my own non-profit (mental health workshops for the community. I have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology). From reading your posts it appears that I do not need to provide myself with a minimum wage ($455), which is great because I don’t anticipate having one especially in the first few years. Is this understanding correct?
With people who work at non-profits my understanding is that they can download some forms and have their employer sign it and they also submit their tax returns.  But it seems like this wouldn’t work with one’s own non-profit.

Is documenting your hours through your own non-profit in order to obtain the PS loan forgiveness something you could help me figure out?

Thank you so much!
Michele

Hi Heather,

I am an attorney in TN.  Have roughly $75,000 in student loans, which are consolidated.  I recently left a large firm and started my own firm which focuses entirely on court appointments representing parents and children in juvenile court dependency and neglect cases.  I either defend parents against allegations of abuse and neglect or serve as guardian ad litem for children in these cases.  I expect to make $35,000 to $80,000 / year with an average of roughly $50,000 once I get into the swing of things.  My first year, I think I’ll only make about $25,000 to $30,000.  I am obviously serving the public interest in taking this work and making significantly less than I would in private sector.  Folks that do the exact same work as I do for the state or county would be eligible for PSLF.  Do you know if there is any way I can qualify for PSLF?  Again, I expect 100% of my income to be from these cases.  I bill the state for my time, and they pay me (usually after cutting a good portion of my time!).  Currently, my practice is set up as a sole proprietorship.

Thanks so much for your help!

PS - of course I’ve just noticed that I misspelled “attorney” as my user name.  Embarrassing…can’t figure out how to edit my user name.