ImpactAlpha, September 26 – Austin-based College Forward offers mentoring programs to support students from underserved communities go to and get through college.
The Kresge foundation and ECMC foundation put up $1.4 million for College Forward’s CoPilot, a cloud-based Salesforce platform, which allows advisors and admission counselors to access students academic and financial aid records. The platform supports 40 global organizations reaching about 300,000 students, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The joint investing includes a $600,000 program-related investment loan and a $400,000 grant from Kresge’s Education Innovation Ventures program, and a $400,000 PRI loan from ECMC Foundation, the foundation’s first direct investment.
“These investments will allow College Forward to bring more users on board and to create new levels of sustainability for its future,” said Peter Taylor, president of ECMC. College Forward will use the funding to help up to a million disadvantaged students in the upcoming years.
