Cash incentives to fight school dropout rates

When she first established The Dollywood Foundation in 1988, her very first major initiative was the "Buddy Program" aimed at her local community. Distressed by high dropout rates, she offered local middle schoolers $500 in cash if they paired up and successfully graduated high school together. The innovative peer-accountability programme was an instant success, permanently slashing Sevier County's high school dropout rate from a staggering 35 per cent to just 6 per cent.