Fingerpaint Founder Donates $4 Million to Pay Staff Student Loan Debt

Marketing agency Fingerpaint's founder Ed Mitzen and his wife Lisa are personally donating $4 million to pay down every current employee’s student loan debt by $30,000 each, regardless of tenure. “We are in the people business and 85% of my costs are people related,” Ed Mitzen told Adweek. “I try to lead from the sense of empathy for the staff. It is a tough industry and the hours can be kind of crappy, there is stress and pressure, deliverables and timing. I always look out for ways to help out people on a personal level.” This gift completely paid off 83 of 131 people’s student loans and reduced the entire student loan debt from team members from $5.3 million to $1.3 million. Team members had a lot of loan debt Mitzen surveyed his staff about two months ago to understand their current concerns. We were asking just to know how much they owe and that we did not want to meddle or interfere with their personal finances, he said. “I was not surprised that many people had loan debt. I had debt when I came out of Syracuse, but it was more [unexpected to learn] the size. We had people that owed anywhere from a few hundred bucks to well over $200,000.” He recognized this gesture could be life-changing. “When someone owes $50,000-$60,000, they need to make six figures just to pay for that, let alone pay for rent, mortgage and childcare. All those things that are expensive in one’s life. I was looking to offset one of those pain points,” he said. Nonetheless, Mitzen was worried this move might alienate some of his team. “I was concerned that the people who already paid off their debt or didn’t have any student loan debt would feel slighted because it helps others and not them,” he stated. “I was pleasantly surprised that people who already paid off their debt were really supportive and thought it was a really great thing to do.” How much is too much or too little? He realized his team recognizes agency’s benefits are not equal across the board, citing, for instance, healthcare would obviously be more impactful for a family of five than a 24 year old single person. Ultimately, this pay it forward belief helped fuel the decision. “We wanted to do something that was meaningful and send a message to the staff that we really want to help.” Determining the exact figure was another challenge, he said. “We looked at the amount of [500+] people and ranges to discover [the average] $30,000 would allow us to wipe out 83 people from debt out of 131 or so that have student loan debt.” This donation comes with no strings, he emphasized. “I had a lot of people I talked to say I am nuts because someone could be here three months and wipe off their debt and in six months they will go somewhere else. I didn’t want to make this too complicated. At the end of the day, if somebody leaves after we do this or if someone takes advantage of the generosity, it is what it is. At least it will help them going forward even if they are not with Fingerpaint. I just didn’t want to worry about it.” This decision is not to gain a recruiting advantage in a hot job market, he added. “If someone wants to change jobs, I do not want them to feel like they owe me because I paid $30,000 off their student loans. I wanted to do this from the sense of helping people and not make them sign a two year contract. Karma will work its way through. If this isn’t the right place for somebody, I want them to be happy.” This donation came through his own pocketbook rather than the agency for “tax reasons,” he said. “I didn’t want to do anything to impact the agency’s profitability. It was cleaner, easier and avoids a lot of bureaucracy.” While this was a one-time payment, both Ed and Lisa have made a commitment to reassess each year to try to do more to help. That said, he realizes he doesn’t want some members to feel they missed out because they joined two weeks later. “Many of them are the reason I have the financial resources to do this so I wanted to give back to them,” he said. The health and wellness-focused agency has embraced its “non-traditional” approach since it was founded in 2008. The agency, named in Adweek’s fastest-growing agencies list in 2020, has invited all staffer pets, including a pig, to its offices as well as institute a no title mantra. The shop, headquartered in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with offices in Albany, N.Y., Scottsdale, Ariz., and Villanova, Pa., offers generous perks to team members, including paying all of their healthcare and allowing them to take sabbaticals after five years. how agencies are rethinking office life post-pandemic lockdown