East Bay College Fund helps resilient public school students, under-represented in higher education, access and succeed in college, expanding their life opportunities by granting $16,000 needed-based scholarships to qualified students attending Oakland public high schools. Yet scholarships are a just one component of East Bay College Fund programming. It aspires to involve the whole community in providing college access services, scholarships, mentoring and support networks to assist these young people in realizing their full potential.

The East Bay College Fund raises money from individual donors and corporations, but also provides community mentors in all four years of school. “This community keeps saying ‘we want to support students in Oakland,’“ said Executive Director Diane Dodge. “We feel like every student in Oakland deserves support in college if they work hard and prepare.”

This year East Bay is funding $1.2 million in new scholarships, which includes 57 scholars headed to four-year schools and another 84 receiving $2,000 each to attend community college as part of a new Launch Scholarship Program.