Message From The President

Keeping Our Promise to California's Youth

This spring, hundreds of California communities honored their 2009 high school graduates in scholarship award ceremonies. Among them are approximately 6,000 low-income students who received college scholarships funded by College Access Foundation of California.

Since its inception in 2005, the Foundation has supported more than 16,000 college scholarships for low-income and first generation college students. Our partners, approximately 100 community programs throughout California, select and award scholarships and assist students with academic preparation, financial aid planning, as well as mentoring and other support to help students stay in school and graduate.

The students who receive these funds are the face of California today: Latinos, African Americans, Southeast Asians, East Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Caucasians. Many are the first in their families to go to college and few would be able to pursue their dreams of a college degree without financial assistance. Nine out of 10 will attend colleges or universities in California.

College Access Foundation remains fully committed to helping low-income students in California attend college. We and other private scholarship funders devote millions of charitable dollars to this effort. We do so because we are inspired by the effort and determination of young people who must overcome many obstacles to further their education. We also recognize that these young men and women represent the future of California.

However, we cannot do it alone nor can we hope to fill in where public dollars disappear.

The Cal Grant program, a 50 year-old state initiative to provide financial aid for needy California high school graduates, is the linchpin for private scholarship aid and other vital assistance to students. With Cal Grants as the core, we can provide additional funds to offset other college costs beyond basic tuition and fees. For many scholarship recipients, this combination of public and private financial assistance means the difference between going to college or not, attending community college or enrolling in the four-year college of their choice, working multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet or focusing on school full-time.

Like all Californians, we are painfully aware of the very difficult choices facing our state and its residents. The downturn in the economy has affected everyone. Families are struggling to make ends meet, California faces the largest budget shortfall in its history, and charitable contributions are not keeping up with the needs of nonprofits. Getting through this economic slowdown is going to take a concerted effort on everyone's part.

While we understand the need for sacrifices, we believe that our state's future is at stake. We sincerely hope that our leaders remain steadfast in their longstanding promise to California's youth by continuing to provide the means for all talented young people to attend and succeed in college.

Julia I. Lopez
President
College Access Foundation of California