Richmond Promise
Building a Post-Secondary Education attainment Culture in the City of Richmond
Richmond Promise Overview
Middle to High
School
High School to
College First Year of College
to Completion &
Career
Launched in 2016, the Richmond Promise is a community-wide postsecondary success initiative in Richmond, CA. Our work aims to address barriers to higher education access and success for Richmond students in the the areas of postsecondary affordability, postsecondary preparedness, postsecondary success, and career success.
Richmond Promise Overview
Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) ● $90 million community benefits agreement between City of Richmond and Chevron ● Community programs, community grants, greenhouse gas reduction, etc. ● 10 year agreement
$35 million of the total $90 million in ECIA funding was allocated to create the Richmond Promise
● Payments made to the Richmond Promise over the course of 10 years (2015 - 2025) Richmond Promise was created by the Richmond City Council and initially set up by city staff before operating as a stand-alone 501(c)3
Richmond Promise Board of Directors
Chris Hurst, Superintendent, West Contra Costa Unified School District AnnMarie Baines, Founder & Executive Director, The Practice Space Linsi Crain, Public Affairs Manager, Chevron Richmond Refinery Michael Littleton, Richmond Promise Board Chair, Former Senior Vice President Of Finance, Gu Energy Labs Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, Executive Vice Chancellor Of Education And T echnology, Contra Costa Community College District Shasa Curl, Interim City Manager, City Of Richmond
Ree’shemah Thornton, Dean, Enrollment Services, Merritt College Ilaf Esuf, Housing And Economic Policy Analyst, United Way Bay Area Jeff Butler, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, City National Bank Linda Schmid, Chief Financial Officer, CSW/Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group, Inc.
Richmond Promise Staff
Anjanine Bonet
Associate Director of Operations
and Scholarships
Maribel Rodriguez
Director of Development and
Communications
Miguel Molina
Associate Director of Programs
and Partnerships
Dariana Zermeno
College Success Manager
Catherine Collins
Development and
Communications Coordinator
Brenda Trujillo
College Success Coordinator
Christopher Whitmore
Executive Director
Breanna Pharn
Operations and Scholarships
Coordinator
Richmond Promise Mission
Promote social and educational equity by removing barriers and creating pathways to build a postsecondary education where every Richmond student excels from high school to higher education, attains a postsecondary degree or certification, thrives in the field of their choice, and becomes a leader of positive change in their community and the world.
Core Values
Collaboration
Student-centered & student-driven
Community-centered
Equity-focused
Reflective and responsive
Integrity
Transparency
Inclusivity
Joy
National Promise Movement:
Local Innovation → National Momentum
Richmond Promise Scholar Snapshot
68%
ETHNICITY
COLLEGE TYPE
70%
First Generation
Low Income
65% Latinx
14% Black/African American
12% Asian
1.9K+
$16M+
Scholars Overall
Pledged in Scholarships
1439289
217
145
59.7%
40.1%
1.3K Scholars Currently Enrolled
125 colleges and
universities
Richmond Promise Scholar Snapshot
T op Colleges:
1. Contra Costa College
2. San Francisco State University
3. UC Berkeley
4. UC Davis
5. CSU-Sacramento
6. San Jose State University
7. CSU-East Bay
8. Berkeley City College
9. UC Merced
10. Sonoma State University
Richmond Promise: Strategy for Scholar Success
Middle to High
School
High School to
Post-Secondary
Education
College Degree, CTE or
AA Completion & Career
TransitionEarly College & Career
Awareness Richmond Promise Scholarship
Financial Aid Completion
College Success Workshops
College Success Coaching
Basic Needs Support
Career Mentorship & Networking
Career Pathways Exploration
Alumni Scholar Network
Scholar Board
Early Higher Education & Career Awareness
Launched in 2017 as Near-Peer Ambassador
Program for 9th graders at KHS
● Who: 6th-9th graders
● Goal: Early college & career conversations
delivered by Richmond Promise Scholars
Richmond Promise Scholarship
$1,500 per year for up to 6 years
Eligibility Requirements:
● Be a resident of the City of Richmond or North Richmond (i.e. have a Richmond home address)
● Graduate or have graduated from an eligible high school within the West Contra Costa Unified School District boundary area or received a GED/high school equivalency ● Graduate in an eligible year
● Have attended an eligible high school at least 9th-12th grade consecutively ● Be under the age of 24
● Complete the FAFSA/Dream Act Application
● Submit a Richmond Promise Scholarship application by the application deadline
Financial Aid Completion
Launched in 2018 at DeAnza and Kennedy High Schools
● Who: 12th graders at DeAnza and Kennedy HS
● Goal: Increasing FAFSA/Dream Act completion by serving all 12th graders, regardless of scholarship eligibility status
RP 101/College Success Workshops
● What: Richmond Promise Scholarship
“orientation” required for all scholarship
recipients before starting college
● Who: All new RP Scholarship recipients
● Goals:
○ Complete required paperwork
○ Connect to college partners & supports
○ Connect to current Scholars
○ Connect to broader Richmond Promise
community
○ Prepare for college transition
College Partnerships
Strategy to utilize what already exists on
college campuses to help ensure college
success
Current partnerships:
● Contra Costa College
● Berkeley City College
● Diablo Valley College
● UC Berkeley
● UC Merced
● San Jose State
Coaching
Additional supports for college students to promote their retention and success ● Received $300,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation to provide coaching services over the next two years to Richmond Promise Scholars at Contra Costa College
● Partnership with Contra Costa College and Beyond 12
● 3 year partnership with Beyond 12 prior to new grant partnership
Salesforce: Data Tracking & Digital Supports
● Utilize Salesforce to track student progress through college ● Track scholarship disbursement
● Track completion of scholar milestones
● Also use for mass communication as an intervention for additional student support
Career Programming
● Career Mentoring: Matched with career professional in related-industry ● Career Coffee Chats: Ability to connect with professionals for informational interviews
Student Employment Strategy
Richmond Promise Scholars hired to assist with the organization’s programming, including:
● Early College & Career Awareness
● Financial Aid Completion
● Summer Associates
● Campus Network Liaisons
● Scholar Board
Campus Network Liaisons
Richmond Promise Scholars utilizing mass texting to communicate relevant on-campus resources and deadlines for RP and their particular colleges Current campuses with leaders:
● UC Berkeley
● SF State
● Sacramento State
● CSU East Bay
● UC Davis
● San Jose State
● Contra Costa College
The Future of the Richmond Promise
● Serving Justice-Impacted Youth
● Developing an Entry-Level Job Placement Program and Internship Placement Program
● Increasing scholar engagement
● Increasing program awareness and outreach
● Building out our Alumni Network
● Expanding and maturing our data collection and evaluation processes ● Expanding funding partners and sustaining funding
Thank you!
Questions?
Christopher Whitmore, Executive Director, [email protected] 440 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, CA 94804