WHO ARE OUR SCHOLARS?

Our Scholars are from low-income families in high-poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles and 95% are first generation college students.

We prepare our Scholars for college success through professional college advisement, personal counseling, college essay instruction, application and testing fees, emergency funds, and “wraparound” services available to each Scholar and each Scholar’s family.

Essays: We work individually with our Scholars to help develop their personal statements and tell their stories.

Fees: We pay all fees associated with applying for admission and financial aid, using fee-waivers wherever possible.

Financial Aid: We help our Scholars access significant financial aid by helping them to identify and apply to colleges and universities that meet their demonstrated financial need. Matching our Scholars to schools that can afford them heavily leverages your support for our program. In fact, every dollar contributed to our program yields more than $5 in financial aid and our Scholars collectively receive more than $5.5 million in financial aid each year.

Counseling: We intentionally focus on students from struggling public schools and who have exceptional personal circumstances. We encourage them to believe they can succeed and provide ongoing support to ensure they graduate and lead fulfilling lives. During college, we stay very involved.

Emergency Funds: Through the existing framework of our Family Assistance Program, we are able to provide emergency support for our Scholars and their families throughout their participation in our program, including; rental assistance, utility-bill support, food cards, and other assistance that is designed to alleviate crises and keep our Scholars on track to graduate.

WHY IT WORKS

Family.

We believe when we are good family to those around us we all do better.

That is why our continual guidance and emotional support are the keys to our Scholars’ outstanding success. We help our Scholars, who come from South, Central, and downtown Los Angeles, go to schools such as Brown, Yale, MIT, and Amherst. Our support helps our Scholars transition to elite college campuses and ensures they thrive. From buying warm jackets and boots, to roommate negotiations, to office hours, and integrating into campus life, we are there for our Scholars when they need us the most.

We also share our successful model at no cost to interested nonprofit organizations, so others may replicate our Scholars Program and start programs of their own. Two successful examples of our collaborative efforts are Bright Prospect Scholars and Collegiate Directions Inc., which have replicated our College Scholars Program in Pomona, CA and Bethesda, MD, and are achieving compelling results: these two programs, in conjunction with the One Voice College Scholars Program, have reached thousands of low-income, primarily first generation college students achieve their dream of going to college.

Every dollar contributed to the One Voice College Scholars Program yields over $5 in grant and scholarship funds from the colleges themselves.