Bancel Foundation Awards Posse $10M to Support College Partnerships
New York, NY, March 10, 2023 --(PR.com)-- The Bancel Foundation has awarded $10 million to The Posse Foundation, a national college success and youth leadership development program. The grant contributes to Posse’s Century of Leaders Endowment Campaign, which seeks to raise $500 million to help support the organization’s institutional partnerships over the next century.
“We believe that the challenges we face, both as a nation and part of the global community, require leaders of the highest caliber in a wide range of fields,” says Posse President and Founder Deborah Bial. “This tremendous gift from the Bancel Foundation will help to build a sustainable, diverse leadership pipeline that our country desperately needs.”
The family philanthropy of Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, and his wife, Brenda, the Bancel Foundation funds projects that, according to its website, “speak to the fundamental emotion that nurtures us through hardship and sustains the human heart: love.” The Foundation lists educational equity among its top funding priorities.
Stéphane and Brenda Bancel join five other contributors who have each made $10 million grants to the Century of Leaders campaign. Donors include Mackenzie Scott, Glenn Greenberg, Linda Vester, and two anonymous contributors.
"Brenda and I believe that education is vital in helping people realize their full potential,” says Stéphane. “We have seen the amazing work Posse does and how they create leaders in the world through their unique education model. Surrounding these motivated amazing students with the right resources and support accelerates and ensures success. We are extremely grateful for their work and can't wait to see what the next generation of Posse Scholars accomplish in the world."
Posse currently boasts 88 partnerships with top-tier institutions of higher education. These colleges and universities annually recruit cohorts of 10 students, called “Posses,” providing each with a full-tuition scholarship and mentoring. This year, Posse partner schools awarded 880 students Posse Scholarships totaling more than $180 million. The organization’s website notes that Posse Scholars graduate at rates above 90 percent and enter the workforce eager and equipped to make a difference in their field.
“The Century of Leaders campaign will help Posse establish 12 new college and university partnerships as well as guarantee the continuation of the program at current partner schools,” Bial says. “Our goal is to raise the funds for the endowment in three phases: first $100M, then $250M, and finally $500M.”
The Bancel grant—which will be distributed in $2 million increments over 5 years—brings Posse half-way through the first phase of the endowment campaign.
“Since 1989, Posse has worked to develop a unique network of young leaders,” says Posse Board Chair Henry Ellenbogen, a partner and the CIO at Durable Capital Partners. “The Bancel Foundation’s extraordinary gift brings us closer to our ultimate goal of recruiting 1,000 students each year, preparing 100,000 leaders over the course of a century.”
About The Posse Foundation
Posse started in 1989, inspired by a student who said, “I never would have dropped out of college if I’d had my Posse with me.” The renowned college success and youth leadership development organization identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who might be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse Scholars attend college as members of multicultural teams of 10 students—Posses—and receive full-tuition scholarships provided by Posse’s partner institutions. Posse works with these students through an eight-month pre-collegiate training program, supports them through all four years of college, and helps them secure competitive internships and leadership-track jobs upon graduation.
To date, more than 10,000 students have won $1.97 billion in scholarships from Posse partner colleges and universities. Scholars graduate at a rate of 90 percent—a rate that well exceeds the national average.
About The Bancel Foundation
Our goal is to fully exert our belief in the goodness of humanity through building relationships with community leaders. We fund projects that speak to the fundamental emotion that nurtures us through hardship and sustains the human heart: love.
Our funding priorities are: creating equitable access to education, increasing food security, reducing health inequities, bolstering interfaith initiatives, reducing racial inequities, supporting trauma survivors & vulnerable communities, improving youth mental health.
“We believe that the challenges we face, both as a nation and part of the global community, require leaders of the highest caliber in a wide range of fields,” says Posse President and Founder Deborah Bial. “This tremendous gift from the Bancel Foundation will help to build a sustainable, diverse leadership pipeline that our country desperately needs.”
The family philanthropy of Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, and his wife, Brenda, the Bancel Foundation funds projects that, according to its website, “speak to the fundamental emotion that nurtures us through hardship and sustains the human heart: love.” The Foundation lists educational equity among its top funding priorities.
Stéphane and Brenda Bancel join five other contributors who have each made $10 million grants to the Century of Leaders campaign. Donors include Mackenzie Scott, Glenn Greenberg, Linda Vester, and two anonymous contributors.
"Brenda and I believe that education is vital in helping people realize their full potential,” says Stéphane. “We have seen the amazing work Posse does and how they create leaders in the world through their unique education model. Surrounding these motivated amazing students with the right resources and support accelerates and ensures success. We are extremely grateful for their work and can't wait to see what the next generation of Posse Scholars accomplish in the world."
Posse currently boasts 88 partnerships with top-tier institutions of higher education. These colleges and universities annually recruit cohorts of 10 students, called “Posses,” providing each with a full-tuition scholarship and mentoring. This year, Posse partner schools awarded 880 students Posse Scholarships totaling more than $180 million. The organization’s website notes that Posse Scholars graduate at rates above 90 percent and enter the workforce eager and equipped to make a difference in their field.
“The Century of Leaders campaign will help Posse establish 12 new college and university partnerships as well as guarantee the continuation of the program at current partner schools,” Bial says. “Our goal is to raise the funds for the endowment in three phases: first $100M, then $250M, and finally $500M.”
The Bancel grant—which will be distributed in $2 million increments over 5 years—brings Posse half-way through the first phase of the endowment campaign.
“Since 1989, Posse has worked to develop a unique network of young leaders,” says Posse Board Chair Henry Ellenbogen, a partner and the CIO at Durable Capital Partners. “The Bancel Foundation’s extraordinary gift brings us closer to our ultimate goal of recruiting 1,000 students each year, preparing 100,000 leaders over the course of a century.”
About The Posse Foundation
Posse started in 1989, inspired by a student who said, “I never would have dropped out of college if I’d had my Posse with me.” The renowned college success and youth leadership development organization identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who might be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse Scholars attend college as members of multicultural teams of 10 students—Posses—and receive full-tuition scholarships provided by Posse’s partner institutions. Posse works with these students through an eight-month pre-collegiate training program, supports them through all four years of college, and helps them secure competitive internships and leadership-track jobs upon graduation.
To date, more than 10,000 students have won $1.97 billion in scholarships from Posse partner colleges and universities. Scholars graduate at a rate of 90 percent—a rate that well exceeds the national average.
About The Bancel Foundation
Our goal is to fully exert our belief in the goodness of humanity through building relationships with community leaders. We fund projects that speak to the fundamental emotion that nurtures us through hardship and sustains the human heart: love.
Our funding priorities are: creating equitable access to education, increasing food security, reducing health inequities, bolstering interfaith initiatives, reducing racial inequities, supporting trauma survivors & vulnerable communities, improving youth mental health.
Contact
The Posse Foundation
Rassan Salandy
212-405-1691
possefoundation.org
Rassan Salandy
212-405-1691
possefoundation.org
Contact
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