Oakland Promise | Impact
January 2022
families supported with college
savings accounts 1,600+
Kindergartners awarded
initial $100 as part of their
OP Scholarship30,000
scholars who persisted from first year to second year of college from OP classes of 2016 and 201788% Our Vision | A thriving Oakland community without
educational barriers to opportunity.
Our Mission | Engaging the Oakland community to
advance equity and economic mobility through
cradle-to-college and career achievement.
We are making real impact. Since 2016...
Cradle to College and
Career Continuum
Towards Post-Secondary
Success
History of Oakland Promise
Oakland Promise launches
as a public-private
partnership.
Oakland Public Education
Fund operates as a fiscal
sponsor for OP. EBCF operates
as the lead agency for college
completion. OUSD, OP and
EBCF co-lead Future Centers.
Oakland Promise
and EBCF merge and
become a 501c3 nonprofit
with a board
of directors.
2003 January 2016 Jan 2016 - Jun 2019
East Bay College Fund is
founded.
July 1st, 2019
4 2021
After a collaborative planning process, in 2021 Oakland Promise launches its 4 year strategic plan to support scaling with equity at the center.
Values: Our Unity Principles
Transparency: We will be open and honest about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.
Accountability: We speak up when we make mistakes and constantly reflect on the impact of our work.
Equity: Our programs are inclusive and targeted to support and provide access to opportunities for students, families, partners, and community members that are historically underserved and marginalized.
Community: We exist to benefit the Oakland community and our success depends on its trust and partnership. We are intentional in listening and responding to community needs and expertise.
Joy: We recognize, honor, and celebrate the resilience and brilliance of our students, families, and community.
Integrity: We do right by our Oakland families and scholars, our educators and volunteer community, and our Promise.
Our 4 Throughlines
COLLEGE-BOUND IDENTITY AND
PERSISTENCE
COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY
FINANCIAL CAPABILITY FAMIL Y ENGAGEMENT IN CHILD’S
EDUCATION
Our Oakland. Our Promise | Impact to Date
71%
Brilliant Baby College Savings Accounts opened
1,000+
Brilliant Baby families participating in financial coaching 30,000 Kindergartners awarded initial $100
as part of their OP
Scholarship
88% OP Scholars persisted from
first year to second year of
college [2019 data]
2,100 Students receiving OP scholarships
and persistence supports in college
1,300 Scholars paired with a Mentor
92% Parents say, “BB has
positively influenced the
way I think about my
child’s future.”
79% Class of 2016 OP Scholars
who have obtained or are
actively pursuing a
postsecondary degree$3.0M Total in OP
scholarships awarded
to Kindergarten
students
60+ Schools receiving
targeted support
focused on college &
career
Our Oakland. Our Promise | Testimonials
“Words can't express how thankful I am, at
the current moment saving for college for my
kids is not in my financial budget and I feel a
little peace of mind knowing that they have a
little something saved to get started for their
education. Thank you.”
-Brilliant Baby Parent
“As an Oakland youth, people do not expect very much of us. But I am showing people around me and my family that we are promising. I'm showing them that you can do well in high school, get good grades, use resources to help you get to college, and graduate.”
- Gisel J
“We want our children to go to university
and graduate. It is wonderful that many
families have the opportunity to participate,
which means the progress of our
community.”
- Yabnely L., Kindergarten to College parent
Oakland Promise as National Model
Teachers, parents, and students have had to move
mountains during the pandemic in Oakland and across our country. And that is why the work that the City of
Oakland and Oakland Promise has been doing is so
important--supporting families from when our children
are babies through education after high school and into their careers.
I am so proud of the students who have worked so hard
and their teachers, families, and community leaders who have worked to ensure that every child has the
opportunity to receive a quality education. Thank you all for what you are doing... I believe strongly that your work is necessary and I want you to know the President and I are very proud of you and believe in you.
- United States Vice President Kamala Harris
Brilliant Baby
10 The Brilliant Baby program supports children’s early healthy development and school-readiness by setting up college savings accounts for babies, offering financial coaching to parents and caregivers, and building a supportive community with the whole family.
Our goal is put children on the path to success in school and life. With an early investment in a child’s future, in combination with financial coaching and additional support, families embrace a firm expectation that their child will attend college.
Research shows that children who expect to go to college are significantly more likely to eventually become college students than those who do not.
IMPACT | Over 1,000 Brilliant Babies have enrolled in OP! ● Early findings from a randomized control trial demonstrated that parents enrolled in Brilliant Baby had increased hope for the future, increased expectations for their child's’ educational attainment, lowered stress and increased family income.
● Nearly 80% of parents participate in coaching and 86% say that “BB has positively influenced the way I think about my child’s future.”
11 Kindergarten to College
Kindergarten to College empowers each elementary and middle school student in Oakland to think of themselves as a college-bound individual.
We provide an Oakland Promise Scholarship, offer incentives to open a family-owned College Savings Account (CSA) and implement college & career programming at elementary and middle schools. Every Oakland public school Kindergartner has $100 set aside in their Oakland Promise Scholarship account.
Long term studies show that children with $500 in their CSA are three times more likely to enroll in college and four times more likely to graduate than those without CSAs (Elliott, 2013).
IMPACT | 30,000 Oakland Public school students have about $3M in an OP scholarship for college
● Oakland Promise Scholarship portal launched late July 2021 with 375 accounts activated to-date and over 630 families have opened a family-owned CSA, in which OP has awarded $20K in initial deposits
● 60+ Elementary and Middle Schools receive targeted support focused on creating a college-bound identity within students
● ~7,000 educational enrichment kits distributed to Kindergartners across Oakland since March 2021
12 College Access
College Access serves high school students attending Oakland Public Schools to have access and support to set them on a path to college & career success.
Future Centers are school-based college advising centers in select high schools with a range of college access and career success services. Oakland Unified School District Future Center staff, Oakland Promise, and other college readiness program partners' staff these hubs under the College and Career Readiness Specialists (CCRS) leadership.
Students receive personalized services and access to technology to help with career exploration, finding internships, and applying and choosing the best-fit college, financial aid, and scholarships.
IMPACT | A record 750 Oakland students applied for Oakland Promise scholarships from the HS Class of 2021.
● Over $2.2 million in 2-year, 4-year and Career Technical Education scholarships were awarded to 514 graduating students compared to 398 scholarships granted in 2020.
● Over 67% and 83% of all scholarship recipients were Black / Latinx and first-generation college students respectively.
13 College Completion
College Completion supports college and Career and Technical Education students with scholarships and persistence support. We provide financial, social, and emotional support through mentoring, peer advising, counseling, retreats, and scholarship distribution.
Oakland Promise designs holistic educational programming to create a culture of career and college preparedness in students, families, and educators, so we can dramatically increase the number of college graduates from Oakland public schools.
IMPACT | Oakland Promise students are persisting and completing postsecondary education at rates higher than comparable peers. ● College Persistence rates in the US (72.4%-73.9%), in California (68.9%-72.5%) have not changed much between 2012 and 2017. Oakland Promise scholars from the 2016-2018 cohorts persist at 88%, which is higher than Oakland-wide, state and national trends.
● 79% of the first cohort of 300 (Class of 2016) have either completed their degree or are still pursuing their degree in their sixth year since entering a postsecondary program.
Comparison: For the Class of 2013, national completion rates for high minority/low income students was 28%.
COVID Supports | Programmatic Pivots
During this global crisis, we are working relentlessly to ensure that our programming meets the evolving needs of our community so we can achieve our collective vision of creating economic prosperity through educational opportunity.
We support students, parents and educators.
● We continue to open College Savings Accounts and award Oakland Promise scholarships for students. ● We provide financial support for parents through online workshops, 1-1 financial coaching and stipends. ● We provide educators engaging curriculum to seamlessly use with students during distance learning. ● We conduct our programming with students and families virtually if it’s not safe to do so in-person and added new program elements that do not require being in-person.
● We launched a community connection platform for parents that played a role in increasing program engagement and participation. ● We launched a scholar and mentor portal for postsecondary students to have direct access to OP advisors to support their educational journey.
● We launched a portal for guardians and students to be able to track their OP scholarship through their educational journey.
We provide financial, advisory and online support for our students. ● We sustain engagement with our students, and families online in all our four programs. ● In addition to providing 2-4 year scholarships, we launched the Dreamkeeper Fund of $100k to quickly disperse one-time emergency funds for over 250+ college students who were displaced. ● All 2022 scholars received a one-time $250 book stipend. ● We ensure students received the advisory support and mentorship to help them persevere.
Supporting Oakland Students and Families
through Major Partnerships
OP partnered with Harlem Children’s Zone to provide support for Oakland, especially the Black community, leveraging our work to support the following:
● Protecting the most vulnerable (mask and PPE distribution) ● Bridging the Digital Divide (technology equipment)
● Zero Learning Loss (supporting our programs for students) ● Supporting Mental Health (supporting our students)
In a collective partnership, OUSD, Oakland Public Education Fund, TechXchange, the City of Oakland, and Oakland Promise have distributed 29K+ devices, 10K+ hotspots & increased connectivity for Oakland public school students from low-income backgrounds from 12% to 98%.
Also, together Education Superhighway and #Oakland Undivided plan to connect 90 percent of the city’s 36,951 unconnected homes to broadband internet over the coming five years.
Oakland Promise | Leveraged Impact for 25+ Years
We look forward to our Generation Fund sustaining our work for the next 25 years with leverage from our intentional, holistic programming!
Generation Fund Annual Holistic Programming
The Generation Fund is a $50M quasi-endowment that
supports financial awards directly to Oakland students and families for the next 25 years.
● Every Medi-Cal eligible baby born in Oakland (~2,000) will be eligible to receive a 529 college savings account seeded with $500. ● All students attending Oakland Public schools “earn” money in an Oakland Promise college scholarship starting in Kindergarten that will be added to and can appreciate over time - resulting in a maximum scholarship of up to $4,000 paired with persistence support in college.
Oakland Promise seeks to reduce devastating educational, health, and wealth disparities by race, neighborhood, and income that limit opportunity for too many Oakland children.
Our Strategic Throughlines: Through programs targeted at each stage of a young person’s development, Oakland Promise provides direct support to empower them to seek out and thrive in higher education and a career of their dreams. Oakland Promise overwhelmingly serves communities of color at a rate of 98%.
● College Affordability
● College Bound Identity and Persistence
● Financial Capability
● Parent Engagement in Child’s Education
OP Scholarship on the K2C Web Page & Portal
K2C Web page OP Scholarship Portal -
Activation Page
OP Scholarship Portal: What a Family Sees
OP Scholarship and K2C | Frequently Asked Questions
When did the City of Oakland begin contributing money to Kindergartners as part of the OP Scholarship? And how much have they committed to-date?
The City of Oakland began funding the OP Scholarship for Kindergartners beginning in 2017. To-date, the City of Oakland has contributed and committed $2.5M towards scholarship funding until June 2023.
When can families and students access this money? What happens to the scholarship if a student decides not to enroll in a qualifying post-secondary program: 2-year, 4-year, CTE program? Students and families can access their scholarship online by visiting our scholarship portal when the student is ready to go to post-secondary. A student has ~12 months from high school graduation to receive this scholarship. If a student does not enroll in post-secondary by this time or claim their scholarship, their money will be earmarked for another student. Note that all funding received from the City of Oakland allocated to OP for students scholarships will remain restricted to scholarships.
Where is the the money currently held?
The funds are currently held at my529, a non profit financial institution. Additionally, any interest accrued on the first $100 received in Kindergarten will also be received by the student.
How do families learn about the OP Scholarship and activate their accounts? Currently, all of our K-5th public school students have this scholarship and can activate online here. We do outreach at school site, city-wide, our website and other avenues. Please spread the word! 21 Finance | FY22 Budget Vital Stats
Overview
Budget Summary (1) % Total
Programming
{For Students & Families} (2)
53% $6.6M
Kids & Families
{Direct Payments} (2)
25% $3.0M
General & Admin (3) 15% $1.9M
Operating Reserve (4) 7% $890K
Total 100% $12.4M
22 Finance | City of Oakland Funds
Financial report of the fund into which the $2,150,000 City of Oakland funds are invested Oakland Promise received City of Oakland funds in FY21 and FY22 to fund $100 Oakland Promise scholarships for Kindergarten students to be invested at My529. The My529 Savings Plan is a qualified tuition program used to save only for qualified higher education expenses. Oakland Promise took receipt of the funds from the City of Oakland and has transferred those funds to My529 to be used for the Kindergarten to College Oakland Promise Scholarship which are allocated to each student.
The funds will be held in a single “omnibus” Master Account already established for this purpose at my529. The money in this my529 Master Account is invested in a portfolio of Vanguard Investment Funds. If the fund grows an estimated 6% annually for 12 years, the value of each student’s $100 promised in Kindergarten will double to $200 by the time they withdraw their funds for post-secondary expenses. These funds may only be used for post-secondary education. Unclaimed K2C funds will be re-allocated as scholarships for other Oakland students.
Prior to the transfer of funds to My529, these funds were held in the San Francisco Foundation (SFF), which is an agency fund, that Oakland Promise opened to manage our assets. Funds received from the City of Oakland in that account gained capital appreciation and interest income over a period of time and as such, will also be distributed to the Oakland Promise Scholarship accounts. To date, these funds have grown at an average interest rate of 12% at the SFF, which will be allocated directly to students’ accounts.
Summary of Media Coverage of OP | May ‘21-Jan ‘22 (Links on Photos)
24 Upcoming Events
Brilliant Baby
● Weekly Community Connections workshops for parents and guardians in English, Spanish, and Cantonese
● Family Fun Day: April 2022 (Exact date TBD)
Kindergarten to College
● K-5th Family Workshop: Discover and Learn: Partners we Love, Feb 17, 2022 @5p {virtual] ● OP Scholarship Ceremony for Kindergartners: March 10, 2022 @10a & @6p {virtual] ● College & Career Week for K-8th Students & Families: April 2022 (Exact dates TBD) {virtual] College Access + Completion
● Winter Career Conference (WCC): “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow”, January 20, 2022, 4-6pm [virtual] ● HBCU Caravan - Black College Expo - February 25, 26
● Oakland Promise Scholarship Application Deadline March 8 ● Class of 2022 scholarship notification - April 24
Organizational
● Party for the Promise 2022, Thursday, May 19, 2022, Lake Chalet ● Oakland Promise Awards Ceremony, Friday, May 20, 2022, Mormon Temple
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Thank you!
We work in community with the Educational
Partnership Committee in support of OUSD to
serve students and families of Oakland!
Interim CEO, Rachel Westmoreland
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