GOLD2024

Rise Together Education, Inc

We get low income students TO and THROUGH college.

Palo Alto, CA   |  http://www.risetogethered.org/

Mission

Rise Together Education (RTE) is dedicated to improving college graduation rates by providing support and financial resources to low-income Palo Alto High School students who have been accepted to 4-year colleges or 2-year community colleges with a direct transfer agreement. At present we are providing scholarships up to $3,000 per academic year for up to four years and $1,200 per year for community college students for up to two years.

Notes from the nonprofit

Rise Together Education is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization spending 98% of funds raised towards college scholarships for Palo Alto High School graduates from low-income families.

Ruling year info

2015

President

Tida Violante

Main address

380 Hamilton Ave. PO Box 29

Palo Alto, CA 94301 USA

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EIN

47-4218680

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

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Despite living in one of the wealthiest locations in the world, about 10% of Palo Alto High School students are considered low income. Many of these students are good students but are unable to attend colleges and universities because of financial constraints. Given a little bit of support and financial assistance, these students will make excellent college students and return to help their communities.

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?

Scholarships & Mentoring

Rise Together Education provides scholarships and mentoring to low income college bound Palo Alto High School students. Our alumni who are First Generation College graduates also provide peer mentoring to college students

Population(s) Served
Low-income people
Students

Where we work

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.

We aim to increase college graduation rates for low income graduates of Palo Alto High School.

We provide scholarships for everyone who has been accepted to college.
We provide room and tuition deposits.
We provide mentoring through our Board Members.
We provide peer mentoring through our alumni.
We provide a professional network for jobs, and internship opportunities.

We have a team of 12 Board Members, 3 Advisors and 4 Paly Student Representatives and 9 alumni mentors of recent college graduates. Our Board Members are involved in the local community, at the high school and local higher education institutions.

Currently, we have a FOUR-year graduation rate of 83% vs a SIX-year graduation rate of 20% based on national data for first generation college students. We also had one student from Paly’s Class of 2017 who graduated in 3.5 years this past December from the University of LaVerne. Three former RTE scholars are now enrolled in graduate schools. Our students are doing amazingly well academically and we are proud of these students for their achievements. We are proud that it was a community effort to help them along the way to reach their dreams of obtaining a college degree and their career goals.

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 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 aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

Rise Together Education, 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.

Rise Together Education, Inc

Board of directors
as of 02/28/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Tida Violante

Deanna Chute

Palo Alto High School

Kimberly Schwan

Retired/Technology Cross Ventures

Pallavi Homan

Apple

Tida Violante

Evaluation & Development

Samuel Vasquez

Alumnus

Brent Kline

Palo Alto High School

Dami Bolarinwa

IT Professional

Dawn Billman

Stanford University

LaDonna Butler

Palo Alto High School

Priyanka Purkayastha

Former Facebook Manager

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? Not applicable
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • 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? Not applicable
  • 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 2/28/2024
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
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 11/02/2022

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.