Georgia First Generation Foundation Corp

The Georgia First Generation Foundation serves all first generation students in the state who do not have the fundamental knowledge of college success and application. With the integrative and engaging plans tailored to each student's intended majors, the program will teach students the skills and ideas that they have not acquired from either past experiences or their high school. We are conscious of the changing demographics in our center's service area and are committed to growing and adapting our center to meet the emerging needs.

To meet the objectives, the following methods will take place over the course of the academic year.
1. Workshops
a. Monthly workshops will be presented to students about varying college preparation needs. These topics will include but are not limited to the following themes:
i. SAT tips and tricks (to include SAT fee waivers, sending scores to schools, etc.)
ii. How to successfully complete the FAFSA
iii. What is a holistic college application?
iv. Online presence and your college acceptance.
b. These workshops will be held at the respective schools and coordinated with faculty and staff to ensure the best opportunities for students to attend these sessions.
2. Training
a. There will be opportunities where students can work on different parts of the application process, or become familiar with the Georgia First Generation’s goals and join the organization at their respective schools.
b. By joining the school chapters that are implemented, this will not only bring together the culmination of work that faculty and staff at the schools and at Georgia First have completed over the course of their time, but also advocate for preparing more students to participate as well.
c. Training would also be implemented into assisting students complete scholarship applications as well.
3. The Georgia First Leadership Summit
a. This is the culmination of all the different aspects of Georgia First by preparing and executing the first annual Georgia First Leadership Summit
b. The Leadership Summit will allow participants to meet students from different schools and work together to tackle leadership exercises and discuss how they all could benefit from the preparation of college success.
4. Mentorship
a. Linking current high school students to college students through mentorship is the focus of this action item
b. Funding networking opportunities so that students can hear first-hand from college students and learn from these first-hand experiences about college processes and college life.

The Georgia First Generation Foundation’s competitive advantage over competitors is that the organization is founded by first generation scholars; students who know from personal experiences the challenges that many students could be or are facing as a result of being in the position of a first generation student applying to college. None of the other competitors have the same level of knowledge towards the dedication and rigor required to master the skills that are needed to become college bound and funded. The Georgia First Generation Foundation has other advantages to competitors. These benefits include engaging and tailored strategic plans for the different majors offered at universities across the state. Another advantage is that the founders of the non-profit are current first generation students who can develop workshops, seminars, and strategic plans that are on the same timeline as the high school students. Compared to other founders who are not students at a college currently, the founders of the Georgia First Generation Foundation have more experience and are still experiencing the situations and scenarios that high school students may face when applying to colleges as a first generation student. We have seen measurable success and we are now seeking to expand our Georgia First Initiative Project to address the needs of first generation students in other high schools across Gwinnett County.

As we begin our pilot program this coming August, we will provide more information about the success of this Fellowship. However, in the time of our formation, we have been recognized by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce as a Nominee of the IMPACT Regional Business Awards in the Nonprofit category.