Foundations and Partners

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund collaborates with foundations, institutions and other partners in the non-profit sector at every level in order to advance our urgent mission of reversing the pattern of Latino under-education. Our collaborations help fund outreach and scholarship programs, and provide general operating support, which is vital for a not-for-profit organization.

Here is a snapshot of some of our projects:

Ford Foundation - Alumni Engagement Program

The HSF Alumni Network was established to stimulate support for current and past scholars, connecting over 50,000 alumni nationwide through newsletters and regional gatherings. Additionally, HSF created the HSF Alumni Mentor Program, which pairs alumni with current Scholar Chapter members to aid in the students’ academic and professional development. The responsibility of mentors in the HSF Alumni Mentor Program is to offer support and encourage HSF scholars by sharing their experiences, both as former students and working professionals. Mentors serve as sounding boards, volunteer partners, and advisors for students preparing to enter the professional world. Since its inception, nearly 800 alumni-student matches have been made.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, HSF is developing the opportunity for HSF alumni to serve as mentors for Latino parents whose children are the first generation in their families to attend college. Alumni volunteers can play an important role in supporting the success of Latino students by reaching out to these parents with the support they need to assist their child in navigating the transition to college. Through this grant, HSF embarked on a registration campaign designed to raise awareness and promote the benefits of maintaining contact with HSF. Registered alumni will receive an engaging monthly e-newsletter filled with job opportunities and other services related to professional development and social networking.

Lilly Endowment Foundation - University Alliance at the University of Georgia

Funded from a grant through the Lilly Endowment Foundation Inc., the University Alliance program at the University of Georgia has been a notable success since its inception as a pilot program in the spring of 2006. The University Alliance program is an initiative to conduct a five-year pilot program, in collaboration with the University of Georgia, to develop relationships within the university community, to improve the enrollment and retention of Hispanic students through community outreach, involvement and presence, and to support the HSF mission of increasing the college graduation rate.

Excelencia in Education - Ensuring American's Future

Excelencia in Education was founded in 2004 to accelerate Latino student success in higher education through strategic information that applies research and knowledge to public policy and institutional practice.

HSF Joined Excelencia in the Ensuring American's Fututure national coalition to leverage the convergence of our common goal to increase Latino's college degree atainment, and the emphasis of this goal by the Obama Administration and national and state leaders in government, philanthropy, higher education and business. Our focus is to put a college degree in every Latino household in this country, and in two generations we anticipate that can move the finish line of education that is now perceived to be the high-school line to the college line.