How a Mom and Daughter Fixed Graduation Gifting

In this article, you’ll discover:

• The real story behind why graduation gifting needed a fix.
• Why sending checks is like living on the Oregon Trail.
• How a mom-daughter team built a safe solution.
• Why GradFunded is the best way to support graduates.

Graduation is supposed to be a happy time. You take pictures, you celebrate, and you get ready for the next chapter. But for many families, the process of announcing the news and sending gifts is actually a mess.

It is stressful trying to find correct addresses. It is awkward asking for money. And it is terrible when a check gets lost in the mail.

That is exactly what happened to Joy Pfister and her daughter, Madison. Instead of just dealing with it, they decided to fix it.

The “Aha” Moment

The idea for GradFunded did not come from a boardroom. It came from a real problem. When Madison graduated from college, the experience was chaotic.

“The ‘aha’ moment was very specific. Madison ordered graduation announcements, and when they arrived, they were almost too dark to use. We had just moved, she was graduating from college, and we didn’t have updated addresses for much of our family. Reordering announcements wasn’t realistic.” — Joy Pfister

Because the announcements were bad and the addresses were old, many family members never knew about the graduation. The problems kept piling up. One announcement came back undelivered. Even worse, a check was lost in the mail.

Another gift arrived digitally weeks later, but Madison had lost track of who sent it. The system was broken.

A Registry for Graduates

Joy works in the wedding industry. She saw how easy it was for brides and grooms to use a registry. They get exactly what they need, and nothing gets lost. She realized that graduation had never been modernized the same way.

She called Madison with a question. Would graduates actually use a registry?

“That conversation became the foundation for GradFunded.” — Joy Pfister

The Power of Two Perspectives

Building a company as a mother and daughter gives them a unique advantage. They operate out of Virginia Beach, building everything themselves without outside investors. This allows them to see the problem from both sides.

Joy thinks about trust. She knows that parents and grandparents need to feel safe when sending money online. Madison brings the graduate’s point of view. She knows what feels intuitive and what feels outdated.

“I naturally think about trust—what families need to feel comfortable giving, and what responsibility comes with handling someone else’s support. Madison brings the graduate’s point of view. She knows what feels intuitive, what feels outdated, and what actually resonates with her generation.” — Joy Pfister

This dynamic shapes their company culture. They challenge each other to make sure the platform is trustworthy but also cool enough for students to share on social media.

Stuck on the “Oregon Trail”

We use our phones for everything now. We order food, book rides, and pay bills instantly. Yet, when it comes to graduation, people are still mailing paper checks.

Joy has a perfect way to describe this outdated method.

“Graduation gifting is still stuck on the Oregon Trail. You mail a card with a check, there’s no tracking, and everyone just hopes it arrives. Families want to give something meaningful—but when gifting lacks structure, graduates lose out.” — Joy Pfister

Mail is unreliable. Postage is expensive. And if a check goes missing, it creates awkward conversations. GradFunded solves this by moving the process online.

A “Glow-Up” for Gifting

Madison calls this change a “glow-up” for graduation. It is not just about getting money. It is about making the moment functional.

“This is a graduation gifting glow-up. Graduation announcements have always been about celebrating the moment. GradFunded makes that moment functional—giving people a modern, easy way to support graduates as they step into what comes next.” — Madison Pfister

With GradFunded, graduates get a single place to receive support. In just three minutes, a student can set up a profile. It does not matter if they are graduating from high school, college, or a trade program.

Gifts and messages land in one dashboard. The student can see exactly who sent a gift. This makes writing thank-you notes much easier because the list is automatically organized.

Safety First

The biggest concern for families is usually security. Joy and Madison built the platform on a secure, established e-commerce system. It uses the same technology that big online stores use.

“Security and trust were foundational for us from the beginning. GradFunded is built on a secure, established e-commerce platform at its core… Around that, we built our own tracking and wallet system so gifts are recorded clearly and reliably.” — Joy Pfister

When you send a gift on GradFunded, you get a confirmation. You know it arrived. There is no guessing game.

Helping Grads Start Strong

The ultimate goal is to help graduates succeed. The “real world” is expensive. Graduates need money for student loans, housing, and groceries.

By bringing everything into one place, Joy and Madison are helping graduates start their next chapter stronger. They turned a frustrating family experience into a solution that helps everyone.