On the last Saturday of February 2026, our board of directors met in a special four-hour session to update key elements of its strategic plan to best serve current Foundation students. The meeting resulted in three votes on key motions shaping the organization’s future. Doing so required understanding trends in higher education and identifying recent shifts in education policy. While our commitment to supporting low-income students continues without compromise and our organization is healthy and strong, there are more barriers around college access than at any time since the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and surely more than there were even one year ago.
We centered our discussion on putting students first and delivering on the promise of real money from real people who understand that education made available to anyone ultimately benefits everyone.
DIRECTION
The Foundation has defined three linked strategies to which its resources are directed: awarding grants and loans (74%), advising students and families (8%) and advocating for policy change (3%). Going forward, we will:
Deepen impact among the students we fund (Awarding).
Policies set in 2015 remain in place: providing last dollar funding, supplementing grants with interest-free loans as necessary, serving as sole educational lender for awarded students, and providing financial education.
Connect our students with the services they need to thrive (Advising).
Advising makes the money matter. The Scholarship Foundation provides support to students in the areas of admissions, financial aid, post-secondary planning, mental health, paid internships, and financial education.
Develop and support our students’ capacity to advocate for themselves and lead others (Advocating).
Education benefits individuals while also advancing the common good. This is never truer than when students engage in democratic processes, support campus-based student organizing, and alert the public on higher education matters relevant to access, finance, and equity.
PRINCIPLES IN ACTION
Five priority initiatives were identified for the coming years. The Foundation will hold itself accountable to:
- Sustainably evolve Scholarship Foundation awarding to enable students to graduate with less debt by increasing grants and decreasing loans;
- Enhance digital capabilities to support advising and advocacy efforts;
- Express commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of Foundation operations and publish progress toward these goals;
- Cultivate policy analysis and leadership skills among funded students, including the institution of a Student Policy Advisory Council, which will assess Foundation policy and make recommendations to the board; and,
- Implement a fundraising effort that invites significant long-term investment in post-secondary education for our community.
If you’re looking for receipts, bookmark and frequently visit this page: https://sfstl.org/support-engage/impact/. There’s proof there that we mean what we say. Count on us to continue that way. Better yet, come through with your contributions of resources and confidence. There’s room for you, too.
