ready willing - Darden Restaurants

eadyandwillingto enrichThe mission and vision of UNCF andDarden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation’sRecipe for Success SM initiative areintrinsically linked. Both are aimed atenabling and empowering minority youthto pave their own path to success byproviding access to resources that enablethem to attain their dream of pursuing apost-secondary education.As the nation’s largest and most effectiveminority education assistance organization,UNCF has been an engine of minorityeducational achievement for over sixdecades. The organization is dedicated tobuilding a robust and nationally recognizedpipeline of under-represented studentsand supporting them in becoming highlyqualified college graduates. In addition,UNCF works to ensure that its network of39 member institutions is a respectedmodel of best practice in moving studentsto and through college.Among UNCF’s strongest supporters,Darden helps the organization close thegap on college access for low-incomeminority students via the UNCF DardenHigher Education Scholarships.During the first three years of the UNCF-Darden partnership, the Darden Foundationprovided “last dollar” scholarships, basedon unmet financial needs, to 31 hospitalitymanagement students attending Bethune-Cookman University, Edward WatersCollege and Florida Memorial University.In addition to investing in students atHistorically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs), Darden has also supported theinstitutions themselves, as they identifyminority students with potential, enrollthem in college and support them throughgraduation.Because of support from partners likeDarden, UNCF member institutions –who confer 9,000 bachelor’s degreesannually – are able to keep tuitionapproximately 26% lower than othercomparable schools. That’s important,because over 90% of students at UNCFmemberinstitutions require some form offinancial aid. Approximately 84% ofstudents at UNCF-member colleges comefrom families with low to moderate incomes.As UNCF celebrates its 67th year with anunparalleled record of graduating over350,000 young men and women from its39 member HBCUs, they acknowledge thatwithout the strong support and partnershipof friends like Darden, they would not beable to remind students of color that“a mind is a terrible thing to waste.”over350,000graduatesUNCF8 / R E C I P E F O R S U C C E S S P R O G R A M S