Stanley Tate’s legacy seen in more than 1.2 million prepaid Florida families saving for college

The state of Florida has lost a true visionary, entrepreneur and philanthropist with the recent passing of Stanley G. Tate. If the success of a person’s life is measured in part by the impact it has on others, we can celebrate that Tate’s legacy lives on in the more than 1.2 million families who have been able to affordably save for post-secondary or higher education . .

This is due to the establishment of the Florida Prepaid College Plan and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

The Florida Prepaid College Plan was designed and funded by Tate in 1987 with $600,000 of his own money to help make higher education affordable for Florida families. He has a personal understanding of what it’s like to struggle financially, having grown up “lower income” (his own words) in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with his parents and two brothers .

He later worked his way through college at the University of Florida.

More than three decades later, we can see that his vision was more than creating a college savings plan. A father of three who made his home in Miami, Tate wanted to create a culture of hope and excellence for Florida families by putting post-secondary education within financial reach through affordable monthly payments for future college tuition.

Along with creating Florida Prepaid’s nonprofit arm, the Florida Prepaid College Foundation, he also created an avenue for businesses and other donors to provide scholarships to deserving students whose families cannot afford to save.

In 2002, under Tate’s leadership, the board created the Florida 529 Savings Plan to give families another way to save for college tuition, fees, housing and other expenses.

A multi-millionaire builder, Tate never stopped working to help as many Florida families find their way to college as possible. He often called Florida Prepaid “the biggest hit we’ve ever had.” The numbers confirm this legacy.

Since 1988, Florida Prepaid has helped approximately 1.26 million families prepare financially for postsecondary education. The program is the largest and longest-running of its kind in the country, and the 529 Savings Plan has been awarded a medal by Morningstar three years in a row.

More than 626,000 students attended college using prepaid plans. Additionally, there are more than 158,000 active Florida 529 Savings Plan accounts with approximately $1.4 billion in assets under management.

But to know Tate, you know he’d look at those numbers and insist there’s work to be done. He wanted every able-bodied family in Florida to save for college and provide more scholarships to deserving students in need.

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The best thing we can do as the Florida Prepaid College Board to honor Tate’s college savings legacy is to keep our eyes focused on the mission of helping as many Florida families as possible save affordably for post-secondary studies. The best thing businesses can do is explore the 1:1 match available through the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

The match doubles the impact of their scholarship gifts and helps more deserving students.

And if you’re a Florida family not yet saving for college, the best thing you can do to thank Tate for his efforts is to start. Nothing would make him happier.

John Rood is president of the Florida Prepaid College Board. Lives in Jacksonville.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on the Florida Times-Union: Helping others save for college was Florida Prepaid founder’s mission