A BluePrint for Success: Case Studies of Successful - Educational ...

A Blueprint for Success
cent (2,226) of EIF seniors graduated from high school. Some 95 percent (2,241) of the total seniors
applied to college and, of those, 87 percent (1,950) were accepted. More than 9,000 applications
were submitted to almost 300 different colleges and universities. Of all EIF graduates in 2010, 68
percent (1,519) were enrolled in college during the fall semester of 2010. For contrast, data reported
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board indicates that of the 6,671 Dallas ISD class of
2009 graduates, only 3,008 (45 percent) were documented as enrolled in some type of postsecondary
institution. Moreover, the class of 2010 was awarded over $7,600,000 total in scholarships for their
first year in college.
Sustainability
EIF obtains funding for its programs from a wide range of sources. About 40 percent of the funding
is provided by the school district in a per pupil allocation. Although the schools do not independently
contribute financially to the program, they provide the space and dedicated staff to work with
EIF. Outside of the district and the schools, EIF engages in an aggressive two-fold fundraising effort;
EIF has a development team that reaches out to corporate partners to secure resources. Their efforts
sometimes overlap with the grant writing team. EIF is working towards diversifying their funding
streams and securing multi-year commitments. The organization is also looking to increase the participation
of independent donors, as well as opportunities to receive state and federal funding.
The organization actively seeks funding through written grant proposals from both private and institutional
funders as well as federal, state, and local governments that support the mission of Education
is Freedom. EIF also hosts an annual signature fundraising event to raise funds for the organization
by aggressively seeking local corporate sponsorship for its intern program.
Due to both the local and national economic climate, EIF has been faced with the challenge of reduced
funding from foundation support, similar to many organizations. Additionally, state and local
budget deficits in education funding have been a challenge for EIF. A reduction in local district
funding has required EIF to refocus its efforts in streamlining resources to continue to meet the
needs of the program. These challenges have resulted in efforts to diversify the revenue streams to
include a broad spectrum of individual, corporate, foundation, school district, state, and federal
sources.
Another potential challenge EIF is preparing to face is a decrease in student financial aid. In preparation
for this, EIF is educating students and families on financial aid issues and options. EIF hosts a
financial aid information nigh each fall and a financial aid completion program each spring for every
EIF high school. EIF also utilizes partnerships with universities and other organizations to meet students’
needs through exclusive scholarships for EIF students. Many of these scholarship opportunities
are also tied directly to student support services offered by universities.
Educational Policy Institute 69 www.educationalpolicy.org