Foundation for a College Education
Organization
Founded in 1995, Foundation for a College Education (FCE)’s mission is to increase the number of first-generation, low-income students of color from East Palo Alto and similar communities who graduate from a four-year college or university. It has grown from five students per class in its early years to 25 cohorts per grade level and now serves approximately 200 students in high school and college each year. Its comprehensive program offerings include high touch academic tutoring and support through college, college application instruction, financial aid and scholarship guidance, and parent engagement and counseling. 2023 graduating high school seniors received 80 admissions from 46 colleges and universities, including Yale, Cornell, and UC Berkeley and $600K in financial aid. 88% of FCE alumni earned their bachelor’s degree within six years.
Issue
Where should FCE target its outreach/marketing to add new students?
Situation
The demographics of East Palo Alto have changed dramatically over the past 30 years and continued gentrification reduces the underserved population in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park. FCE’s goal is to expand the geography of the communities it serves, primarily to insure a pipeline of students, but also to potentially increase its impact with growing cohorts. There are other Bay Area organizations with similar/complimentary missions to FCE but with different programs/services. FCE would like to understand where there are communities of need with gaps in offerings by others.
Project Overview
The Foundation for a College Education requests ACT’s help in identifying underserved communities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties where there is a need for its programs.
Key demographic questions include:
- Number of low income students entering 9th grade/year
- % of high school graduates who attend college
- Availability and efficacy of alternative student support organizations
The team will need to research and evaluate demographic data (most likely available by school districts), understand projections of student populations, and assess the offerings of other organizations in comparison to FCE. Recommendations may lead to a future marketing project.
Other
This is a Fast Track project:
- Scope: Focused, specific organizational issue
- Team Size: 4-6 consultants
- Project Duration: 3 months
- Estimated Time Contribution: 25-30 hrs total (per consultant)
Read more about the Fast Track Project Consultant role.