Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  A few years ago, when Laura completed her Master’s Degree, I helped her open a 529 college savings account so she could earn miles and points by buying Gift of College gift cards and using them to pay for tuition. Fast forward 5+ years, and I knew I wanted to do the same for Madison.

While researching 529 plans available in California, I came across CalKIDS (California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program). This is a state-funded initiative that helps children start saving for higher education. Every child born in California on or after July 1, 2023 is eligible for up to $175 in free college savings (read this post to learn more).  In today’s post, I’ll walk you through how CalKIDS works with ScholarShare 529 and Gift of College eGCs.

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Step 1: Check Eligibility

Go to the CalKIDS LRN Eligibility Tool and enter the 13-digit Local Registration Number (found on your child’s birth certificate).  

For children born in San Francisco, the Local Registration Number is near the top right corner of the birth certificate.

Enter that 13-digit number, click the Next button, and if your child qualifies, you’ll see: “Congratulations, your child has a CalKIDS account waiting for them.”  Click Claim Their Money Now button to continue.

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Step 2: Claim the Account

On the Claim Your CalKIDS Scholarship Account page, enter your child’s county of birth, date of birth, and their 13-digit Local Registration Number, then click the Claim button.

You’ll then be prompted to create a CalKIDS account. Since Madison doesn’t use computers (yet!), I signed up as the parent/guardian and completed the form.

After that, you can log in to view your child’s CalKIDS balance.

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Step 3: Link to ScholarShare 529

I forgot to take screenshots of the following steps, but the next step is to open a ScholarShare 529 account. Once linked, you will see your CalKIDS balance, your ScholarShare 529 balance, and a combined summary (shown below).  The account values are updated every day with the growth of the funds in each account.

On the CalKIDS Account tab, this tab shows 3 transactions that total $175:

• $100 Newborn Seed Deposit
• $25 Newborn Registration
• $50 Newborn ScholarShare 529 Linkage

On the ScholarShare 529 Account tab, I can see my own contributions: a $100 ACH deposit plus $275 in Gift of College eGCs.

Over at the ScholarShare 529 portal, I can see the year-to-date contributions and account transactions.

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Step 4: Using Gift of College Gift Cards

Gift of College gift cards can be purchased at select retailers (use their store locator). Availability varies by location and YMMV if the store / cashier let’s you pay with a credit card.

If you prefer digital options, you can buy Gift of College eGCs online:

• GiftOfCollege.com: eGCs up to $200 with a $5.95 fee (2.98% fee).
• GiftCards.com: eGCs up to $75 with a $5.95 fee (7.93% fee), but online shopping portal rewards may help offset the cost.

My $200 Gift of College eGC purchase:

My $75 Gift of College eGC purchase:

I bought 2 Gift of College eGCs ($75 eGC and a $200 eGC) on September 6, redeemed them through my Gift of College account, and saw the funds post to Madison’s ScholarShare 529 on September 9.

Of course, if you don’t want to pay any fees, you can always contribute directly to your ScholarShare 529 account via ACH, set up recurring deposits, or share your Ugift link with friends and family.

The process may sound like a lot of steps, but it is surprisingly quick and $175 in free money for college is absolutely worth it. All you need is your child’s birth certificate with the Local Registration Number.  If you have any questions about the process, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!