Kresge Foundation selects OCC to participate in BOOST initiative
The Kresge Foundation has awarded a $495,000 grant to Onondaga Community College, PEACE, Inc., On Point For College, and JOBS Plus! to connect people with low incomes to critical human services supports and educational pathways to advance social and economic mobility. This is one of six partnerships between community colleges and human services nonprofits nationwide selected to participate in Kresge’s Boosting Opportunities for Social and Economic Mobility for Families (BOOST) initiative.
Through BOOST, Kresge aims to connect students with critical human services supports to help them successfully juggle work, family and school, and people served by human services nonprofits with educational opportunities that lead to careers that help them support their families.
A high-quality college education can help students with low incomes succeed not only today, but throughout their lives,” Bill Moses, Kresge Education Program managing director, said. “But at colleges all around the country, students often juggle work, family and school. Nearly 1 in 5 college students are parents, and that rate is even higher at community colleges. We believe that if more students receive the critical supports that human services nonprofits provide, more students will stay in college and graduate.”
“Onondaga Community College is delighted to partner with Peace, Inc., OnPoint for College, JOBS Plus!, and the County of Onondaga on this important initiative to move local people out of poverty and into family-sustaining, lifetime careers,” said OCC Interim Provost and Senior Vice President Anastasia L. Urtz. “The Kresge Foundation’s recognition of the City of Syracuse as a community ready for this investment reflects the strength of the existing collaborations on which we intend to build through this initiative.”
In addition to grant funding, BOOST grantees and partners will convene annually, participate in a cross-site evaluation and receive technical assistance from Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit organization that will serve as the foundation’s management and learning partner.
For more information on BOOST, visit The Kresge Foundation at Kresge.org.
