"Having somebody that owns that for us is a relief because I know — since Carrie is very detailed and organized — things are not going to slip through the cracks. If that doesn't underscore my level of trust in her ability, I don't know what [could]."
— Kate Hoffman, Founder
The Challenge
Kate Hoffman founded Earn to Learn in 2013 on her dining room table with a mission to empower students with financial literacy, helping them achieve workforce readiness with little to no student debt. What began as a personal passion project grew rapidly into a nonprofit with approximately 25 full-time employees, 40 near-peer advisors, and a $4.5 million budget — with ambitions to expand across 25 states.
That explosive growth came with real operational strain.
"I jokingly say that we were building the plane as we were flying it in the sense that this has had explosive growth,"Kate admits. With team members working remotely and multiple stakeholders involved in development, aligning everyone on responsibilities became increasingly difficult and mission-critical.
Technology and systems were not among Kate's natural strengths, and as the organization scaled, the absence of clear processes threatened to slow momentum. She needed someone who could bring structure to the complexity — and fast.
The Solution
Kate turned to BELAY and provided her Client Success Consultant with an extensive list of everything she envisioned for the role. The first match was Virtual Assistant Carrie Leake, whose organizational instincts made an immediate impression.
"She brought to the table the level of organization we really need to take this to another level, and she came out of the gate demonstrating the significance of that."
Carrie's work centered on behind-the-scenes functionality — organizing philanthropic endeavors, mapping out development responsibilities, and establishing systems to keep the entire remote team aligned. Kate and Carrie established regular work sessions for dedicated download time, which proved essential for staying in sync.
"She recognized quickly where she could really bring value,"Kate noted.
"That says a lot about her as a person."
Carrie's success catalyzed further growth in the partnership. Earn to Learn brought on three additional BELAY contractors: Emily Swieca as a Virtual Assistant focused on scheduling for Kate, Lindsey Ellis as a Virtual Assistant for COO Leslie Shultz-Crist, and Mary Scott as a Website Specialist — building a full support infrastructure around the leadership team.
"We had such great success with Carrie that we started to recognize there could be other ways we could work with BELAY."
— Kate Hoffman, FounderThe Impact
The partnership with BELAY transformed how Earn to Learn operates at scale. With Carrie owning the organizational functions that had previously gone unmanaged, Kate gained the confidence to delegate and the clarity to lead — knowing critical details would no longer slip through the cracks.
"Having somebody that owns that for us is a relief because I know — since Carrie is very detailed and organized — things are not going to slip through the cracks. If that doesn't underscore my level of trust in her ability, I don't know what [could]."
What began as a single contractor relationship evolved into a team of four BELAY specialists, each contributing uniquely to Earn to Learn's capacity to carry out its mission.
"All four of those people have brought something to our organization that we're grateful for. That has been helpful in expanding our capacity to do this important work."
With systems now in place and a trusted team supporting leadership, Earn to Learn is well-positioned to pursue its potential expansion across 25 states — ensuring more students can access the financial literacy tools they need to succeed.