Access Reports

Message from the President of The Sallie Mae Fund

Kathleen M. deLaski, president of The Sallie Mae FundI have been struck over the past few months by how many smart political, business, academic, and foundation people are directing their energy into college access. Among the many announcements this spring of new initiatives, one stands out as a further confirmation that the big philanthropy dollars believe advocacy at the state and national level is key. The announcement is the up-to-$60 million commitment by the Broad and Gates Foundations to create ED in 08, an effort to build a national movement that demands K-12 education reform in the next election. We applaud this effort, assuming it finds a bi-partisan voice.

At the state level, The Sallie Mae Fund is pushing the model many others are championing, direct partnerships with forward-thinking school superintendents. That certainly describes Abe Saavedra, the Houston superintendent bent on imbuing his district with a college-going culture. Our new partnership has us investing alongside Houston and several local universities to bring college-access programs to the district.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez presents the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership to Sallie Mae
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez presents
the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership to Sallie Mae,
November 2006.

Working closely with community-based partners, the third Sallie Mae Fund “Paying for College” Bus Tour concluded last month, meeting in person with more than 20,000 students and parents this spring. Tour spokeswoman Lilyan Prado reports that the challenges for students in the targeted communities include their own legal status, turning their dreams into an action plan, and more basic things, like “What’s a GPA and why should I care about it?”

The Tour continues to be a signature component of our financial aid awareness campaigns, and was one of the reasons cited in the awarding of the 2006 Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership late last fall to Sallie Mae.

Ahead this year, The Sallie Mae Fund will once again contribute roughly $2.5 million in college scholarships to approximately 1,000 students this fall. More about one of our programs can be found in The Sallie Mae Fund and NAFEO's "Writers of Passage" Essay Competition.

Also in this issue of the Access Report: