The College Funding Service Center (CFSC) was started on September 26, 2001, by Al Hoffman. Prior to September of 2001, Al had four years of experience in helping a student/family navigate the college-bound process. Al’s mission statement was simple. Help students get into college. He started out in a home office by himself. The College Funding Service Center now has seventeen employees and nine additional counselors that assist the college process.

Since the beginning, Al and the team of service providers and counselors have helped over 20,000 families on the college process. Each year the servicing of the college process evolved. Many new proprietary programs have been added to give the student/family the peace of mind they have made the right decision. The theme now is to help a student/family find a college that Fits the student academically, socially, and the family financially.

The CFSC systems have been designed for scalable growth due to the procedural style of training using spaced repetition and hands-on training developed by Al. The redundant systems in the servicing site allow for a high degree of assurance of a quality product. The CFSC is well respected in the college process industry. Al was in the US Navy Submarine program in the late 70s. He believes part of the success in college servicing is the military-style procedural part he brought to the table when he first started.

There was a period of time in sales that brought the service part of his vision for the CFSC to the table. The counselor’s aptitude has evolved as well as he gave back to the community with outside activities. Al was one of four original founding members of the National College Advocacy Group (NCAG).

He was the NCAG’s first president. Al is still a member of the NCAG board, executive committee, and the committee chair of the NCAG’s Certification program and knowledge bank. The NCAG is a 501 C.3 non-profit organization established in the state of New York.

The NCAG has dedicated itself to being a source of knowledge for financial or academic college counselors and the public at large for all things related to the college process. Al has lecture spoken at the IECA, HECA, NICCP, and NCAG Conferences at various times on college affordability and issues related to the FAFSA and CSS Profile.

Chuck is the president and founder of the Educational Literacy and the Student Athletic Centers (educational programs) in Kentucky.  Chuck is a Certified Cash Flow Consultant, Certified Athletic Marketing Consultant, and Certified Athletic Financial Consultant.

Over the last 35 years, Chuck has helped hundreds of families in the area of college financial literacy and athletic marketing issues.

He has been approved to conduct EILA (professional development courses) for all guidance counselors, principals, athletic directors, and school administrators in the state of Kentucky since 1996. These same professional development courses are also approved in the states of South Carolina and Indiana. In 2011, Chuck was invited to be a participating partner in the Berea College GearUp Program. This seven-year program provides financial and college literacy issues for 15 school districts in eastern Kentucky.

Chuck has appeared on local and national radio and TV and has been interviewed and published by local/national media organizations. The National Association of EA (IRS Enrolled Agents) published a lead article in their national magazine (EA Journal) in their January and February 2007 Issue (“Are Scholarships and Grants Taxable or Tax-Free”).

Chuck provides financial education programs and consulting to assist and educate families of college-bound students, CPAs, Athletic Directors, Athletic Coaches, and other financial professionals. He also provides college financial literacy assistance to employees of corporations and hospitals on addressing college affordability issues from a personal standpoint.

Chuck has trained CPAs, past college athletes, past/present high school/college coaches, realtors, mortgage brokers, and financial consultants on college financial literacy and athletic marketing issues across the United States.

Gary is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and a Certified College Advocate (CCA). He has provided continuing education courses in the area of college financial planning for various state CPA Societies.

He has been quoted in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, MONEY, Financial Advisor, AARP Magazine, and on MSNBC and CNBC. He has had over thirty years of experience in tax and financing and has spent the past eighteen years in college planning and consulting.

Mr. Carpenter is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the co-founder of the National College Advocacy Group. He is active in committee service for the New York State Society of CPAs and the NCAG.