Montecitan Martha Salas Balances the Books. The Textbooks.

Higher education is expensive. It’s no accident that for decades academic dorm cuisine has been lovingly built around the Cup O’ Noodles^® tradition, an affordable scholastic delicacy whose variants include beef, chicken, shrimp, teriyaki, and the always-worrisome “spicy” – an indefinable “flavor” commonly avoided the night before a mid-term. 

Apart from higher ed’s tuition, fees, and housing costs, textbooks themselves add several prohibitive pounds to the financial millstone hung about the average student’s neck. Textbook costs have risen precipitously over the past couple of decades, seeing from January 2000 to June 2022 a 162% increase – twice the rate of inflation for that period.

2023’s Textbook Costs Impact Survey canvassed 19 institutions of higher learning and found that 82% of responding students tried to work around the textbook hard$hip by not purchasing, or only partially purchasing, required course materials. Some 40% of respondents took fewer courses to save on these materials, and many students sold personal belongings to pay for their textbooks. These added stresses do not focus a young scholar’s mind. Fortunately, Martha Salas had a topical brainstorm. 

FundMyTextbooks.com (The Grand Pianist That Wasn’t)

“I’d witnessed many times how families and friends support each other to achieve major life goals,” says Martha Salas, Founder and CEO of FundMyTextbooks.com. “I saw it with home purchases, for instance.” Salas’ long career as a mortgage loan officer exposed her to many, many instances where friends and family would combine resources to help their first time homebuyer over the finish line. “It occurred to me we could apply the same generosity to help students afford their college supplies. Why not help the parent or other donor manage the student’s spending?” 

Salas is on to something, and it transcends the affordability of higher education. We can’t know how many people go to their graves never having stumbled upon their inherent gift or acumen; their would-be contribution to this singular life. How many preincarnate grand pianists are never given to touch a piano? How many prospective scientists wander down a fork in the road that leads away from the intellectual revelation that would spring their lockbox of potential? How many Margot Fonteyns have come and gone, never having stepped into a ballet slipper? 

So it is with unrealized academic potential, but with a tragic caveat; the aspiring, financially challenged student is aware of both what she can achieve, and the unscalable wall that stands in the way. There has always been more to getting into university than demonstrable academic skill, good study habits, and plucky determination. Many brilliant young scholars are financially stymied in their academic forward motion, and either don’t bother to apply, or decline their school acceptance because the monies required seem absurdly crushing. In this ecosystem of students struggling to meet their potential, every bit of available relief is priceless.

“No student should fall behind or risk their future because they can’t afford their course materials,” Salas continues. “We created Fund My Textbooks to remove that barrier, so every student has what they need to thrive and succeed in their education.”

In a poll of those who enrolled in college but didn’t complete their degree, the National Association of Student Aid Administrators (NASFAA) found financial pressure was the top reason, at 55%. FundMyTextbooks.com can help mitigate this key barrier to scholastic success.

Go Aggies

At this writing, Salas’ FundMyTextbooks.com (FMT) is formally collaborating with UC Davis, the FMT launch rolling out with Davis’ spring quarter this year, which begins March 27, 2025. Salas is enthusiastic about the possibilities. 

“Initiating its nationwide program with the University of California, Davis, Fund My Textbooks is excited to be allied with this institution, given their longstanding tradition of innovating solutions to improve course material affordability for their students. UC Davis is a perfect FMT launch pad for the entire university and college system.” The platform is customizable, such that it can meet each institution’s unique needs. Some schools use printed textbooks, while others, like UC Davis, provide digital course materials for a flat fee. In any case, the donated monies are “discretionary” and can only be used for one purpose. 

“Fund My Textbooks ensures that every dollar donated is used solely for the purchase of educational materials and related tools,” Salas assures. “This gives peace of mind to donors.” The FMT model directs contributed, earmarked funds to the school’s bookstore, ensuring that contributions are used only for the purchase of school materials.

Undaunting

At its inception, Fund My Textbooks immediately garnered support from subject matter experts in education, business, and tech – including former Women’s Economic Ventures CEO Kathy Odell, SCORE advisors Tom Phillips and Mark Sten, and tech support wizards New Directions in Computing, Inc. 

A longtime educational advocate herself – as well as a financial executive in the mortgage banking industry – Salas has long been involved in public and private efforts to support schools in meeting their student needs. Having long worked in an industry whose seeming complications many first time homebuyers find daunting to even contemplate, one of Salas’ central concerns was that FMT not scare off potential users with a complex interface. That box has been checked. The Fund My Textbooks process is hearteningly simple. 

“Imagine an online platform,” Salas says, “where students can seamlessly fundraise – receiving donations for reading materials, laptops, calculators, and other educational tools with a few easy clicks. Then it’s just a matter of conveniently picking up those purchases at their college bookstore.” Fund My Textbooks plans to tailor the platform to suit other colleges’ and universities’ specific needs. Salas has been working hard to build a tool that is all upside. It must be said that a prestigious UC agreeing to help launch her program speaks volumes. She’ll be watching the UC Davis rollout with an eye to continual improvement, and is particularly pleased that her model assures donated monies won’t be frittered away on Curling and other such well-known distractions of the modern university experience. At least as this columnist understands the perils of scholarship today. Salas’ innovation is a crowdfunding platform for college course material, and it arrives not a
moment too soon.

“Imagine a worry-free system that assures family members, friends, anonymous donors, and other contributors that their money will only be used for instructional materials,” Salas says with a smile. “No student should fall behind or risk their future because they can’t afford their course materials.”  

Visit www.fundmytextbooks.com or call (805) 881-3092