Local foundation gives scholarships to needy
July 30, 2008
By Tim Pfarr
It has disbursed almost $64 million in scholarship awards, helped more than 4,600 underprivileged students attend college, and is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, Costco and others.
Nestled in an office building on Sammamish Road just past the International House of Pancakes, one can find the Issaquah headquarters of the College Success Foundation.
The foundation was established in 2000 by Bob Craves (co-founder of Costco) and Ann Ramsay-Jenkins after the two met while serving on the Washington Higher Education Coordination Board. Both had a vision to “provide college scholarships to low-income, high-potential students” in Washington state, according to the foundation’s mission statement. The foundation is based here due to its strong ties with Costco.
Originally known as the Washington Education Foundation, the first scholarship introduced was the Costco Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to under-represented minority students who would like to attend the University of Washington or Seattle University.
Between 2001 and 2006, three more scholarships were introduced: the Achievers Scholarship Program (funded by Bill and Melinda Gates), the Washington State Governors’ Scholarship for Foster Youth created by Gary Locke and the Chateau Ste. Michelle Scholarship Fund.
The largest is the Achievers Scholarship Program, which has accounted for nearly 75 percent of the total scholarships distributed in the foundation’s history. Students in this program are chosen from one of 16 selected high schools from across the state, are awarded the scholarship at the end of their junior year of high school and receive a mentor for their senior year, as well as for their first two years of college.
The Governors’ Scholarship for Foster Youth was created due to the fact that only three percent of the nation’s foster children graduate from college, College Success Foundation Director of Advocacy and Marketing Susan Pollack said.
Director of Development Barry Goren said that as governor, Locke “was the symbolic father of all the foster children in the state of Washington.”
Gov. Chris Gregoire now joins Locke in awarding the Governor’s Scholarship.
Deng Lual, one student who participated in the foster youth program, said he found it to be very helpful. He moved to the United States from Sudan in 2001.
“It was a pretty good program for me,” he said, adding that the program was primarily how he paid for college.
He graduated from Skyline High School in 2003 and attended Central Washington University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a minor in communications.
He now works as evening manager for the Gilman Boulevard QFC, and occasionally works as a mentor for the foster youth program.
“It went pretty well, and that’s why I’m still involved,” he said.
In 2006, the foundation changed its name to the College Success Foundation and introduced the Leadership 1000 Scholarship, which allows donors to directly sponsor a student, providing a total of $20,000 ($5,000 for each of four years). Donors can select a student based on various characteristics, such as where he or she attends high school or what he or she hopes to study. Donors then get to meet their student and receive periodic updates and progress reports.
Goren said the Leadership 1000 Scholarship allows donors to “have the ability to customize their scholarship.”
He also said 100 percent of funds contributed by donors are given to students.
Issaquah residents are eligible to apply for all College Success Foundation funds, with the exception of the Achievers Scholarship Program, as none of the 16 eligible high schools is located in Issaquah.
Recently, the foundation opened a new supporting organization in Washington, D.C., known as the District of Columbia College Success Foundation, which offers its own Achievers Scholarship, also funded by Bill and Melinda Gates.
Reach intern Tim Pfarr at 392-6434 or isspress@isspress.com.
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