PLATINUM2023

SCHOLARMATCH INC

Making College Possible

San Francisco, CA   |  www.scholarmatch.org

Mission

Founded as a nonprofit in 2010, the mission of ScholarMatch is to connect under-served students with the community to make college possible. We support first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds to earn a bachelor’s degree within five years through individualized advising, targeted financial support, and career mentoring all the way to graduation.

Ruling year info

2012

Executive Director

Karla Salazar

Main address

849 Valencia St.

San Francisco, CA 94110 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

45-4985621

NTEE code info

Scholarships, Student Financial Aid, Awards (B82)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The US Dept. of Education reports that college graduates with a bachelor's degree typically earn 66% more than those with only a high school diploma. Over the course of a lifetime, the average worker with a bachelor's degree will earn approximately $1 million more than a worker without a postsecondary education. College graduates are also far less likely to face unemployment. By 2020, an estimated two-thirds of job openings will require postsecondary education or training. Yet first-generation, low-income (FLI) youth face tremendous obstacles getting into and through college. Roughly 1.9 million California families with children under 18 are low-income, and 60% of these parents have no college experience. California schools also have the highest ratio in the country of college counselors to students (1:951). This leaves FLI students with little to no guidance as they navigate the complex college application landscape.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Destination College

Our Programs


Higher education is the most cost effective solution to ending the cycle of poverty. However, even with 4.5 million low-income and first generation students enrolled in college today, only one in ten will make it to graduation — one fifth the rate of their more advantaged peers. What’s most surprising is why this disparity exists. Research shows that these student students most need:

Assistance finding and applying to schools
Help with the cost of tuition and fees
A support system throughout college and beyond
Our programs are fueled by community engagement and are purpose-built to address all three of these needs.
Read about our impact here.

Destination College works hands-on with low-income high school students at our San Francisco and Los Angeles drop-in centers and virtually across the country. Our services are free and open to the public. We offer college coaching, college access workshops, individual financial aid counseling, test preparation, college visits, and our own in-house college search tool.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents

All students deserve a support system in college. Without it, low-income and first-gen college students drop out at five times the rate of their more advantaged peers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We stand behind our students with transition support during freshman year all the way to career mentorship opportunities for upperclassmen.

Population(s) Served
Students

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of clients participating in educational programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Economically disadvantaged people, Students, Adolescents, Young adults

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

In 2022, ScholarMatch served a smaller number of students as part of a planning year to prepare for multiple funded projects that will lead to expansion and scaling in Los Angeles and nationwide.

Hours of mentoring

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Destination College

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our desired impact is for students to:
1) Engage with ScholarMatch programming that offers holistic, student-centered support
2) Persist through college, successfully passing classes and accruing credits
3) Graduate from college within 5 years
4) Gain knowledge and build skills to support the launch of their career

Our program spans 7 years, and provides students with holistic support through three key transitions. These are:

1) College Access: This year, ScholarMatch will serve 2,000+ high school students. We serve students virtually, and at drop-in centers in San Francisco and Los Angeles. High school juniors and seniors are matched with a volunteer college coach who mentors them as they complete college application ‘milestones’, including building a college list, completing financial aid applications, and writing personal statements. Students also access robust support from ScholarMatch staff, and services including SAT prep, workshops, meetings with college admissions representatives, and more. On average, our students apply to 8-10 colleges, a best practice only exhibited by 8% of low-income, first-gen students.

2) College Persistence: This year, ScholarMatch will serve 450 college students. High school students who complete all college ‘milestones’ with ScholarMatch become eligible to apply for this program. Once accepted, students are matched with a college advisor from our staff and assigned to a small cohort of peers. Students meet with their advisor 1:1 and in small group sessions over Zoom. ScholarMatch also provides students with targeted financial support designed to boost outcomes including college persistence, campus involvement, and career readiness. With this support our students thrive, averaging a GPA of 3.0 and 5-year graduation rates of 81% - almost four times higher than the national average for low-income, first-generation students.

3) Career Readiness: As students approach graduation, they are matched with a volunteer career mentor for 1:1 support completing key career milestones. Beginning with students graduating college in 2022, all scholars graduating from our program will complete two internships during college, and will receive robust support from ScholarMatch to make this possible.

ScholarMatch serves more than 2,500 young people through our programs based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and our Virtual college coaching program. We also serve 11,000+ students virtually through the ScholarMatcher college search tool.

In 10 years, ScholarMatch has grown exponentially: from serving 39 students in its first year to annually supporting more than 2,500 young people through our programs based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and our Virtual college coaching program. We also serve 11,000+ students virtually through the ScholarMatcher college search tool.

We have strong and consistent partnerships with organizations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, which provide operating and scholarship support, and leverage volunteers to engage the community and keep our operating costs low. We are governed by a strong board with experience in technology, fundraising, and nonprofit governance.

Founded in 2010 by author Dave Eggers, ScholarMatch began as a San Francisco-based crowdfunding platform for scholarships and quickly evolved into a college access and persistence organization, delivering hands-on support for the students who need it most. In 2015, we launched the ScholarMatcher, a groundbreaking college-list building tool optimized for the needs of low-income students, and began to offer college advising services virtually to high school students outside of the Bay Area. In 2016, we expanded our college services to serve students in Los Angeles and launched our first virtual advising program for college students.

Today, ScholarMatch is a nimble 22-person organization that engages 500 volunteers per year to serve over 2,600 students nationwide at every point of the college journey.

We are looking to expand our work even further, serving students across the country through our virtual advising programs.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection

Financials

SCHOLARMATCH INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

SCHOLARMATCH INC

Board of directors
as of 08/29/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Karen Grace Baker

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 8/11/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx
Gender identity
Female
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/29/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.