Greenhouse Scholars is vital to spreading the power of opportunity, choice, and belief to affect low-income families and communities.  These resources demonstrate the critical importance and unmet needs that our program is working to solve in the communities we all share.

• “Friending Bias” highlights recent studies that link cross-class social interactions with upward social mobility. According to Raj Chetty, an economist at Harvard, “Growing up in a community connected across class lines improves kids’ outcome and gives them a better shot at rising out of poverty.” By building a community of people from different geographic, socioeconomic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, Greenhouse Scholars is facilitating connections that help people transform their own lives and the world.
• For young people from under-privileged backgrounds, admission is not the only hurdle to the success at elite colleges and universities. In this piece from The New York Times Magazine’s Education Issue, Anthony Abraham Jack, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, details his experience as a low-income, first-generation, student of color at Amherst College. His powerful story highlights that while financial aid is critical, it falls short of meeting many disadvantaged students’ needs.
• At Greenhouse Scholars, we see our community open doors and minds, unlock potential, and drive positive change. Your Life is Driven by Networks, an article from venture firm NFX, presents a detailed model that explains this effect and how significantly your networks can influence your outcomes. It also highlights college and your first job as a couple of the key crossroads that have the most influence on your long-term network.
• Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Season 1 of Revisionist History, a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell, focus on low-income students’ road to higher education, how universities provide (or fail to provide) opportunities to those students, and inequitable collegiate philanthropy.
• This interactive New York Times article presents results of a study that suggests low-income students are still significantly underrepresented at U.S. universities, particularly schools qualified as elite. An accompanying article points out the same underrepresentation of minorities.
• As Elite Campuses Diversify, a ‘Bias Towards Privilege’ Persists. In this NPR article, Anthony Abraham Jack, author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students, is interviewed about his research that shines a light on the hidden curriculum and other barriers to success that students from “doubly disadvantaged” backgrounds must overcome to succeed in higher education.
• Three Miles, episode 550 of WBEZ’s This American Life podcast, follows the story of two groups of students from opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum and highlights their differences in educational opportunities and experiences in college.
• On Greenhouse Scholars’ Youtube Channel, our Scholars share their inspirational stories and how the Whole Person Program has helped them to overcome adversity and give back to others.
• This factsheet from the Postsecondary National Policy Institute highlights statistics about first-generation college students, their degree attainment, and the challenges they face. This is a valuable resource for anyone trying to better understand the need behind Greenhouse Scholars’ mission. The article sites many reputable sources for its statistics.

Dear Greenhouse Scholars Community,

I want to begin by expressing our solidarity with the individuals, families, and communities of color who continue to be victimized unjustly. We remain hopeful that our country and the world will continue to evolve and progress to a place where the sort of violence that happened this past week is eradicated from our society. While every voice in support of changing this is important, more important are our actions and solutions.

Our vision is “to create a community of leaders who will evolve the communities of the world.” For me, this resonates strongly these past several days. Our work has never been more urgent and important. 

The outcome of our work is to enable hope, opportunity, and belief to thrive in every community. We believe everyone in our society should be able to live the life of their choosing. One of the underpinnings of our goals and aspirations is to bring together a diverse community of people to work together to create lasting change across communities. We must have people from all walks of life come together and unite in a manner that cannot be ignored or set aside for another time and place.

We refute and stand firmly against any approach that meets violence and victimization with violence. We must find a way for times like these to bring us together, not allow hate and violence to further separate us.

Our society has made meaningful progress on issues of race and inequality.  Our progress is not enough. Now is a time to accelerate solutions, to demand more and faster change. We will continue on our path with renewed vigor. We will continue to work every day to infuse hope, opportunity, and belief into every community. We will continue to put ideas in place that lead to everyone being able to live a life of their choosing. As I write this note I ask myself how I can help more than I have previously, how I can change, how I can implement positive solutions, how I can be the change I want in the world. Maybe everyone has questions and answers for themselves.

Making statements, assuring our voice is counted on the right and just side of history is not enough, not even close. We need more action. We will continue to lead with our actions. We will continue to unite people, to include people, to bring together diverse leaders from across the divides that separate us: socioeconomic, generational, political, ethnic, religious, etc. We will continue to elevate our Scholars’ solutions. We will continue working from within low-income communities to shine a light on some of our country’s most inspiring role models. We will continue educating our donors and supporters about what our Scholars are facing and achieving.  We will continue preparing our Scholars to lead and to have a positive impact. We will continue to promote the power of education to create opportunity and positive community change. 

This is a moment of great sadness, frustration, anger, and disbelief. We must use it to fuel our resolve and our focus on positive, sustained progress. We must not shrink from or confuse the challenge that is in front of us but rise to the occasion – today and every day.

With hope and belief,

Peter M. Burridge
President and CEO

To our Greenhouse Scholars community,

Our supply of resilient, entrepreneurial, and effective leaders is our most critical national resource.  More than stockpiles of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or canned foods, we need leaders at every level and across every industry who are proactive and solutions-oriented in the face of rapid change and uncertainty.

The work we’re doing to support and connect truly extraordinary leaders to one another here at Greenhouse Scholars is more important than ever.  Each of you, from our Scholars to our mentors, staff, volunteers, alumni, corporate and foundation partners, and supporters of every kind – you give me hope and optimism for our shared future.

Consistent with our values of leadership, community, relentlessness, and accountability, our organization is committed to the following:

• We will work harder than ever to over-deliver on your expectations.  That’s especially true for our Scholars who are directly affected by university closures.  We will stay focused, be accountable, and remain communicative and collaborative.  If you perceive that we do not rise to the occasion in any way, we want to know.
• The Greenhouse Scholars program delivers quality services across broad geographies in a highly-customized manner.  Our holistic program components, from mentorship to professional networking, internship, skills modules, impact, and financial support, will continue uninterrupted.
• Every day, we meet with our Scholars and contributors to understand your circumstances, learn from your perspectives, and support your goals.  We will now be sharing excerpts of these conversations more broadly, so we can all stay better connected and informed about one another.  Please ensure that you follow Greenhouse Scholars on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube so you can be included.
• Events are significant for our budget, and we’ve already had to cancel many of our plans.  We are re-forecasting and cutting expenses to ensure we are accountable to you and financially healthy for the long-term.

We are committed to being catalysts for change, and we are in this together.  We have an excellent team, proven results, a fine-tuned program, dedicated supporters, and inspiring stories of success.  We need you, and we need your support, right now.  Please consider not the minimum, but the maximum that you can give to support Greenhouse Scholars at this historic time. 

Sending gratitude and good health,
Andra Pool
Chief Relationship and Community Officer
Greenhouse Scholars

By the year 2020, 74% of jobs in Denver will require a post-secondary degree or certificate. However, less than half of current Denver residents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Many young people believe that college is not financially possible or fail to complete their degrees because of financial, social, and academic pressures.

In November 2018, Denver voters passed a dedicated funding stream for college access and success programs through a sales tax increase, thereby creating the Denver College Success Corporation (DCSC).

The DCSC reimburses nonprofits for a percentage of the tuition grants and support services they provide to Denver students. We’re thrilled to see such a positive initiative in a community that means so much to us and honored to qualify as recipients for the funding.