Post Secondary Education

In 2010, The Ford Family Foundation Board launched a new proactive grantmaking focus on Post-Secondary Education Awareness and Enrollment (PSE) with a goal to “increase the number of rural students who are aware of, prepared for and enrolled in post-secondary education or training.” The Foundation has invested heavily in post-secondary education through our Scholarship Program since 1994 and the Board’s recently approved proactive strategy builds heavily on this past commitment. The availability of scholarships is a proven tool for higher education attainment, but even before enrolling in programs beyond high school, students and families must be aware of their options and what it takes academically and financially to succeed in a chosen educational path. This work requires a team approach that includes the student, the school, the family, the community, and higher education partners. We need to work together in order to make lasting change in creating a culture around attaining post-secondary education and training in rural Oregon. 

In order to help implement these goals, the Foundation has partnered with Oregon GEAR UP to bring a group of 10 new GEAR UP sites to rural Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties. Starting in middle school and continuing through high school, GEAR UP supports effective, sustainable activities that focus on establishing high expectations for all students to meet their educational goals. There are 5 areas of focus: providing appropriately rigorous courses with academic and social support; promoting supporting relationships including families, peers and adults; informing students of the right courses needed for college; encouraging career exploration as a tool to understand the value of postsecondary education; and informing students of the financial supports available to pursue their educational goals.

In addition to our efforts in rural Oregon, the Foundation will also seek to learn from and align with other post-secondary education stakeholders and organizations as we work to bring about effective, long-term improvement in higher education outcomes for students statewide.

To find out more about this program, please visit GEAR UP.
http://gearup.ous.edu/

Click here to learn more about our Scholarship programs.
http://www.tfff.org/ScholarshipPrograms/tabid/64/Default.aspx

Note: Special Programs are Foundation-driven efforts; funding is considered by invitation only. These programs not part of the Foundation's Responsive Grant categories and are not open to unsolicited requests.