Benefits of Being an EFC Member

• Unmatched representation on Capitol Hill, with the Executive Branch, and within the student loan, higher education and financial communities – Effective advocacy on Capitol Hill is one of the most valuable benefits of EFC membership. In this capacity, EFC staff members are uniquely qualified to work directly with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, the White House, the Treasury Department, the higher education community and related organizations. This advocacy work also enables EFC to be the primary source of critical public policy information for its membership.
• Unparalleled informational resources – Through meetings, conference calls, newsletters, the EFC website, and other sources, EFC provides its members with news on issues affecting the day-to-day operations of education finance. It also serves as a means of arming loan program supporters with marketplace information on how EFC members help finance billions of dollars in loans, and provide outreach services, scholarships and other benefits to millions of students and parents every year.
• EFC Exchange is the EFC daily publication that has set the standard in providing detailed updates on issues impacting the student loan finance business. The EFC Exchange provides relevant legislative, marketplace, tax, regulatory, technological, and political information gathered from a wide a variety of sources and delivers the information to members via the Internet. 
• EFC website resources – EFC members have access to a wealth of resources maintained on the association’s website, including a constantly updated online library of key student aid policy documents and loan industry information.
• Access to EFC Staff and Individual Member Assistance – The EFC team is a group of talented and dedicated professionals whose collective experience ranges across an array of institutions pertinent to the student loan enterprise. This includes institutions of higher education, student lenders, student loan service providers, Congressional offices, public policy think tanks and media outlets. Their knowledge and expertise is available for individual membership assistance, and technical and programmatic assistance. EFC members are often available to present at meetings of EFC member organizations, including board meetings.
• Research, Surveys, Reports – EFC staff pride themselves on promptly providing the most accurate data available on issues that affect education finance, including default rate data, loan volume updates, school participation lists, tuition costs, alternative loan financing, market trends, higher education tax benefits, savings programs and other topics. Some reports are available only to EFC Voting members such as a bi-annual salary survey, while other quality research products are made available to all members.
• Conferences and Specialized Meetings – EFC members receive a substantially reduced rate to attend EFC conferences and meeting and are afforded the opportunity to participate in certain specialized meeting open only to EFC members. EFC conferences and meetings are recognized within the student loan community and on Capitol Hill as being the most substantive and informative in the community. The Annual and Mid-Year Membership Conferences, as well as periodic specialized meetings such as the Legal Meeting and Technology conference, gather experts to provide members timely information on critical issues. EFC meetings and conferences are planned with the goal of providing the most relevant and timely information as well as unprecedented networking opportunities. This is one of the strengths and successes of EFC-sponsored events.
• Financial Literacy & College Access –EFC members are committed to strengthening the financial literacy of students and families. To facilitate this, EFC Voting Members are often invited to take part in events designed to promote financial education – such as “Financial Literacy Day on Capitol Hill.” EFC works collaboratively with its members by contributing to projects wherein timely resources for students and families are developed and disseminated covering various financial literacy topics. Many of these materials are included on the EFC website and may be utilized by the EFC membership.