San Diego Foundation announced Monday a $4 million, four-year commitment to its education initiative supporting local high school students facing homelessness, foster care or language barriers in preparing for and completing college.
The $1 million in annual funding for SDF Community Scholars Initiative will support nonprofit partners and student scholarships, according to the foundation.
“For nearly 50 years, San Diego Foundation has responded to critical community needs,” said Mark Stuart, president and chief executive officer of SDF. “The success of our region depends on local students, especially those furthest from opportunity, receiving the assistance they need to graduate from high school and prepare for college and careers that will support them and their families.”
SDF Community Scholars Initiative partners with local nonprofits to provide students least likely to graduate with essential support services such as tutoring, personal counseling, mentorship, scholarships and academic advising.
Despite an overall 84.6% high school graduation rate in San Diego County for the 2023-2024 academic year, significant disparities remain. Only 69.4% of local English learners, 49.8% of foster youth and 62.8% of students experiencing homelessness graduated during the same period, according to the California Department of Education. SDF initiative aims to close these gaps by addressing the unique barriers these students face, according to the foundation.
Two major donations will bolster the program’s scholarship efforts: a $1 million gift from an anonymous donor and $500,000 matching gift from the Barbara Monroe Scholarship Fund at SDF.
These contributions align with SDF’s Fifty & Forward campaign, a multi-year effort to grant $500 million to local nonprofits and raise $1 billion to shape San Diego’s future by supporting education, children, families and the environment.
As part of its commitment, SDF awarded $935,000 in programming grants to 10 nonprofits that provide wraparound student services. Grantees include A Step Beyond, Barrio Logan College Institute, First Gen Scholars, Monarch School Project, and others.
The initiative also provided scholarships through local partners Reality Changers and Ocean Discovery Institute. Since 2017, the program has supported 710 first-generation college students with over $1.9 million in scholarships.
For more information, go to SDFoundation.org/CSI.
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