Financial Post by Garry Marr | December 2, 2015

Illustration by Chloe Cushman/National Post

Don’t have enough money to make a contribution to your child’s registered education savings plan? Why not tap into friends and family?

A Toronto company is promising to bring crowdfunding to the RESP world. Heritage Education Funds Inc., Toronto-based a provider of RESPs, is launching what it calls the Heritage eGifting Program.

“This program is a unique, convenient, and simple solution,” says a company release, noting subscribers to the program will be able to electronically collect funds towards a child’s RESP.

RESPs have become increasingly popular in Canada because the federal government matches every dollar with a 20 per cent grant, up to $500 per year and $7,200 lifetime. More money is available for low income Canadians and a number of provinces have their own matching programs.

Related: The Future of Financial Services

“Heritage recognized the need parents have in terms of saving enough money, while at the same time looking towards their family, friends and those in the community who could also help raise funds, particularly for special occasions and life milestones where many prefer to give the child money,” says the company, in it release.

Jason Maguire, chief executive of Heritage Education Funds, says his organization is the first in Canada to bring this type of service to the industry.

“Everyone who uses it will see the great value in investing into those solutions and in making a difference in a child’s life,” he said in a release.

The Heritage program will be powered by FundRazr, a crowd funding platform that has, to date, helped raise more than $74 million from over 45,000 campaigns around the world.

Related: How FundRazr is Turning Websites into Crowdfunding Platforms

“For the first time, and just in time for the holidays, friends and relatives will be able to safely and securely contribute a financial gift, to be directly contributed towards a Heritage RESP,” said Daryl Hatton, FundRazr chief executive.

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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country.  NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1300+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada.  Learn more About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.