A Program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury · David H. Lillard, Jr., State Treasurer

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Give the Gift of Education

One of the most meaningful gifts you can give a child is a bright future. Gift the gift that grows with them!

Stacked coins in upward growth trend, plant growth, piggy bank with graduation cap

Ways to Give

One of the most meaningful gifts you can give a child is a bright future, and few things are as empowering to children as an education. However, the cost of college is climbing each year. Last school year, college tuition rose 3.6% for 4-year private, nonprofit institutions and 2.9% for 4-year public, in-state institutions. The total cost of 1 year, including room and board,
averaged $43,921 for a private, nonprofit school and $19,548 for a public, in-state school.*
Saving with TNStars can help free that special child in your life from the burden of loans. 

In the same way that compounding interest over a long period of time can significantly increase your savings, repaying interest on a loan over a long period of time can significantly increase debt – debt that college graduates often have a difficult time repaying with an entry-level salary.

For example, if you save $23,400 (or $25 a week) with TNStars over 18 years that could add up to $42,000 for college. A child who borrows that same $42,000 could end up repaying almost $60,000.

*The College Board, "Trends in College Pricing 2015."

Ways to give

With TNStars You Can Choose To:

  • Open an account for a niece, grandchild, godchild or friend's child.
  • Gift to an existing an account. If that special child in your life already has a TNStars account, you can contribute directly to it either online or by mail. Once you contribute to the account, you can print a gift certificate to take with you if you're attending a baby shower, birthday party or other special event.
  • Enjoy special tax advantages by creating an educational legacy for your family.

Open an Account Gift to an Account Legacy Planning

Open an account

Our mission is to empower you with the tools to pave the way for your child’s future. We understand that financial planning can feel overwhelming, but TNStars makes it easy and straight-forward.

After you have read through the program disclosure and reviewed the investment options, it's time to open your account. Before you get started, you'll need the following information for the beneficiary:

  • Full name 
  • Date of birth 
  • Relationship to you 
  • Social Security Number 
  • Phone number 

Program Disclosure Investment Options Open an Account

Daughter Flying with Dad


Contribute to an Account

Contribute to an Account

How does Ugift work?

Ugift is an easy, free-to-use service that lets family and friends make the meaningful gift of money into a TNStars account. Saving for college can take a village, and Ugift makes it easy to get help from your network of family and friends.

Account owners receive a unique Ugift code for each child. If you want to use Ugift to give college savings, reach out to the child’s parent or guardian for a Ugift code.

Once you have the Ugift code in hand, you can use it to make a gift contribution at Ugift529.com whenever you want.

Learn more about Ugift

College Savings:

Easy to give, hard to wrap

Ugift turns an ordinary gift into an opportunity to help a college dream come true. Still, it is not easy to wrap. If you want to have something for the child to physically open, download a printable gift certificate.


Printable gift certificate

Ugift Logo



*Ugift is a registered service mark of Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, Inc.