
With this financial commitment, we are excited that Oakland Promise will be able to support more of Oakland’s young people and their families throughout the City! It is through our continued public and private partnerships in Oakland and the Bay Area that we will be able to help sustain and grow our programming commitment to empower Oakland’s brilliant young people to aspire toward college. It will also help us to create a culture, identity and mindset that post-secondary education and careers are possible for our students who are furthest from opportunity.
Thank you to Oakland and the whole community’s support as we continue this important work!
Learn about our programs for supporting the education of young people at each stage of their growth.
Learn about opportunities to donate, mentor, volunteer or champion OP.
Get access to the Scholar Hub resources to equip you for college and career.
Get access to the resources to help you in mentoring OP Scholars.
To achieve our mission, we are a(n):
We strive to make college and career technical education (CTE) affordable for families through scholarships, college savings accounts (CSAs), advocacy for lower tuition policy and partnerships.
We support students to and through post-secondary education by providing resources, mentorship, guidance, college-culture expectations and community.
We share information, expectations, resources, and financial guidance with parents and caregivers so that they feel confident in supporting their student to make college or career technical education a reality.
We provide guidance and advisory support to help families plan for the financial commitments needed for post-secondary education completion.
Over 79% of Oakland Promise funding goes directly to the young people and families in Oakland. Since the founding of Oakland Promise in 2016, here are some highlights:
Families of infants and kindergartners set up a 529 college savings account (CSA) for their child, seeded with funds from Oakland Promise.
Elementary school students have a $100 Kindergarten to College (K2C) Early College Scholarship Fund.
Middle and High school students receive targeted college and career readiness supports.
Students receive $17 million in OP scholarships and persistence supports. Over 1,300 Scholars were paired with a Mentor. 88% of OP Scholars persisted from first year to second year of college.
I am impressed by the bold and comprehensive approach of the Oakland Promise which has pulled together best practices from around the country. As former US Secretary of Education, I've seen many initiatives across the country ---- Oakland Promise is one of the most strategic and effective and has the potential to be a national model... it leverages private philanthropy for public dollars and has already achieved outstanding results. OP changes the trajectory of our Oakland students from the time they are born, through the time they graduate from college and enter the workforce. Oakland Promise is truly a game changer for Oakland and its future generations.”
Former Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama (2009-2015)