College Visions Annual Report, 2022

FUTURE FORWARD

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

letter from our Executive director

Over the last couple of years, College Visions was tested in unprecedented ways as we faced the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenging fundraising landscape, and transitions in our organization’s leadership.

Fortunately, the CV community demonstrated incredible resilience, rallying together to meet the moment. We ended fiscal year 2022 in a position of strength exceeding our annual fundraising goal, returning to inperson programming, and welcoming a new Executive Director.

What enabled us to endure these trying times? Our students and donors. CV students are our inspiration; they drive us to stay the course and do whatever is necessary in the most difficult of times to help ensure their well-being and success. And we are extremely fortunate to have a dedicated community of donors who understand the critical nature of our work and stick with us during tough times.

Now we move forward, ready to pursue our vision for the future. This vision includes deepening our impact by increasing the number of students we serve, expanding into high need communities outside of the urban core, and growing our programming to support CV students as they transition from college to careers and community leadership. With nearly two decades of experience supporting first-generation college students, we also aim to continue being a voice in conversations at the local and national level around equity and access in higher education.

To achieve this vision and ensure our long-term sustainability, we need to continue building a strong base of financial support for CV. One fundraising priority is to grow our individual giving. And I’m happy to announce that we’re off to a fantastic start on this front – we were fortunate to receive a very generous matching gift challenge by The Matouk Family, who will match new and increased gifts to CV up to a total of $35,000! This extraordinary investment will help us further fortify our position and achieve our strategic goals in the coming year. We hope that you will take up this challenge by making a gift by December 31st and doubling your impact.

Thank you to our amazing students for motivating us and our generous donors for believing in us. We promise that we will continue working our hardest every single day to break down barriers to higher education for first-generation students and to serve as a model for how to empower and support young people working to pursue their education and build their future.

cAp student: cAp student:

natalia, west warwick high school '23

“Being a first-generation student means making my family proud. I want to show

them that their hard work was impactful and I could not have done it without their support. I want to inspire my siblings to expand their education even if there are difficulties that present themselves, and to use those opportunities given because not everyone has access to them, like our family. I am a proud first-gen student and being one means everything to me.

college access program college access program college access program

For close to 20 years, CV’s College Access Program (CAP) has supported low-income, first-generation Rhode Island students throughout the college application process. More than 75% of CV students are Black, Latino, or Afro-Latino. CV accepts students with a wide range of academic achievement. The thing that all of our CAP students have in common is the goal of attending college and earning college . They issions ositive similar access assetir own nity.

Kolajo paul afolabi Kolajo paul afolabi Kolajo paul afolabi

college success program college success program college success program

Since 2009, the College Success Program (CSP) has provided continuing support to CV students from college enrollment to graduation. The CSP reflects CV’s commitment to being an organization that focuses on data and research-based interventions while also focusing on the power of positive relationships with staff advisors and peers.

Both nationally and locally, we see large gaps between college enrollment and completion rates for Black, Latino, low-income, and first-generation students. 71% of CV students earn a degree within 6 years of initial enrollment, significantly higher than the 60% 6-year degree attainment rate for all college students in RI and the troubling 11% 6-year rate for low-income, first-generation students nationally.

Keesha, rhode island college '23

Majoring in: Biology & Chemistry

“CV provided guidance and unwavering support during a very nerveracking time for me.

Their workshops and 1:1 advising helped me navigate the college admissions process, and their constant encouragement helped me overcome my imposter syndrome at the time. Now, as a college student, they have been checking in on me and ensuring that I am excelling in my demanding courses. They also provided support when I was having a difficult time transitioning into college, and helped me realize what I truly wanted to study for the next few years!"

cSp student: cSp student:

K-Lin,

University of rhode Island '25

Majoring in: Kinesiology

I didn't know how to look at financial aid packages nor did I know what to write about for my essays. CV helped me through the entire process. I felt supported in my decisions, and I knew if I had any questions, they would try their best to answer them. Now, I am in college with a dream to become a physical therapist. I am very grateful to be able to have this program help me through so much."

“As a first-generation student, I knew nothing about the college admissions process.

Kolajo paul afolabi Kolajo paul afolabi Kolajo paul afolabi

The College Visions College Success Program is named in honor of Kolajo Paul Afolabi, who was a volunteer, donor, and Board member at College Visions who passed away unexpectedly in 2011.

It was truly a privilege to count Kolajo as a member of the College Visions family, and we are eternally grateful for his energetic contributions to our organization and our field. His deep knowledge about college access and success and his infectious smile added much to our work. Naming the College Success Program in Kolajo's honor affirms our dedication to promoting college completion, a cause about which he was passionate, knowledgeable, and forward thinking.

"In honor of my amazing brother and his incredible spirit. I'm so grateful to college visions for giving us the opportunity to help his legacy live on."

- Yea, Jai, Amara, & Aden Flicker

Christina Anderson

Susan Anderson

Anne Aycock

Sofia Bahena

Catherine Bennett Heather Bridges

Adam Bright

Gretchen BrionMeisels

April Champion

Nancy Chudacoff

Howard Chudacoff

Marjorie Cohen

James Donahue

Daniel Finer

Yetunde Flicker

Jai Flicker

Amara Flicker

Aden Flicker

Geoff Gibson

Dave Good

Lamont Gordon

Ryan Hathaway

Moira Hinderer

Jessica Hopkins

Dionna Jenkins

Rachel Lane

Rachel Levy

Kira Mead

Rachel Micah-Jones

Becca Miller

Kyle Miller

Kacee Montgomery

Simon Moore

Darwin Morales

Jessica Moulder

Bevin Murphy

Monephia Nembhard

Jacob Paul

Precillia Redmond

Erin Romero

Margaret Rousseau

Matthew Rufo

Liuba Ruiz

David Russell Marcia Russell

Jennifer Santos

Dominique Taylor

Imeh Williams

Melanie Wong

Erin Wright-Gandhi

Chinlin Yang

Seth Zimring

CV PREP CV PREP CV PREP

CV provided an intensive 6-week college and career readiness summer program to 80 students on the Rhode Island School of Design campus. This program is offered in partnership with Providence Public Schools and provides Providence high school students academic enrichment and a positive social environment in addition to a robust college and career curriculum. Students created SMART goals, created resumes and cover letters, honed their essay writing skills, researched colleges, set goals for the coming year, participated in mock interviews, in addition to field trips and daily team building activities.

Daily Attendance: 94.5% Portfolio Completion: 95% CV Summer Prep Stats

At the end of the program 92% of students reported that they were excited or very excited to have participated in the program. 95% of program students reported that they were likely or very likely to use something they learned during the program in the coming school year.

“During CV Prep, I had nothing but good experiences. In the beginning when I got the letter

mailed to my house, I saw it as a way to not only learn about college, but get paid for it. It was a two-in-one deal. I enjoyed my teachers, the activities, the food, the laughs, etc. I would definitely come again next year and I'm grateful I was given such an amazing opportunity.” - CV Prep Student

The Next Generation of leaders The Next Generation of leaders College visions alumni College visions alumni College visions alumni

"I'm currently a creative content specialist at Netflix. I'm proud of being able to produce, edit, and direct various shoots and make

creative content that have debuted nationally. I'm also proud of the few theater performances I've been able to take part in for fun in my community theater. I was a very active member in my TV club and theater in college and always hoped to work in the entertainment industry so I'm very grateful that it's become my reality."

masha paul mcdaniel college '14

"I currently work at a Boston-based private equity firm by the name of BayPine. I worked with many private equity firm counterparts

when I was beginning my career in the financial services industry and thought the investment side would be more interesting vs. being a service provider. I moved over to the private equity industry and found the work extremely challenging but intellectually stimulating. The combination of analytical rigor from reviewing investment opportunities and the ability to partner with executives in building businesses keeps the job very dynamic and I absolutely love the work."

William Feng Boston University '18

a voice in the conversation a voice in the conversation a voice in the conversation

For close to 20 years, College Visions has provided first-generation, low-income students with exceptional college access and success advising. We know, however, that students face structural challenges that CV cannot solve on our own. College affordability is a particularly pressing issue. A recent report from the National College Attainment Network found that Rhode Island has no affordable public or private four-year college options. CV supports policies and programs that provide equitable access and affordable options for people who wish to pursue higher education.

As a member of the Rhode Island Alliance for College and Career Readiness, College Visions advocates with other local organizations for legislative, regulatory, and budgetary interventions that support the success of young people.

College Visions was honored to participate in the 50th Anniversary celebration of the passage of Pell Grant legislation at the Pell Center of Salve Regina University. CV staff joined U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Representative David Cicilline (RI-01), Salve President Dr. Kelli J. Armstrong, and other guests to reflect on the power of Pell and advocate for federal action to double the Pell grant to ensure that college is accessible to low-income students.

CV College Success Program Advisor and CV alum, Jennifer Santos spoke at the celebration, stating:

"The Pell Grant provided me with financial stability for the years I was in college. I knew I could rely on it. During challenging

times, the Pell Grant allowed me to finish my undergraduate degree and graduate with manageable debt. Thanks to that, I could take my current job at College Visions and give back to other first-gen students."

Pictured: Secretary Cardona with Jennifer Santos, Lamont Gordon and other guests

supporting public service loan forgiveness supporting public service loan forgiveness

College Visions was proud to host Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in October as he highlighted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Established in 2007, the PSLF program provides a path to loan forgiveness for people working in public sector and non-profit jobs. After making 120 payments, PSLF participants can have the balance of their student loans forgiven. Programs such as PSLF are very important to the groups of students CV supports: low-income, firstgeneration students of color . These students struggle to access college and graduate with more debt than their wealthy and white peers, even with careful planning for affordability.

Pictured to the right: Jennifer Recinos, CV Alumni

Pictured to the left: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Lamont Gordon

Board of Directors Board of Directors Board of Directors

Kirtley Fisher Special Lecturer, Providence College

Shamika Cameron, Treasurer Associate Director, Harvard College Admissions & Financial Aid

Osvaldo Jose Marti Head of Lower School, Moses Brown School

Jaretta Konneh, Secretary Professional Learning Specialist, New England Basecamp

Ivette C. Luna, Co-Chair Director, Consumer Engagement, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

Grant Porter, Treasurer Senior Consulting Manager, Finance and Analytics Conduent State Healthcare, Rhode Island Executive Office of Health & Human Services

Julio Reyes Program Director, Undocumented, First-Generation College and LowIncome Student Center, Brown University

Ebony BridwellMitchell Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Cassandra Richter Educator & College Visions Volunteer

Cicily Shaw, Co-Chair Co-Director of College Counseling, Thayer Academy

Bridget L. Mullaney Partner, Cameron & Mittleman LLP

Lamont Gordon, Ex Officio Executive Director, College Visions

Carlos Then Consultant, Mr. Then Consulting LLC, Knight Life Security, Knight Life Valet

sstaff staff taff

Jennifer Santos Success Advisor

Susan Anderson Success Program Director

Lariona Jacobs Access Advisor

Dionna Jenkins Access Advisor

Moira Hinderer Development Director

Kacee Montgomery Operations Director Monephia Nembhard Development Associate

Teeravuth Nokeo Access Program Director

Bethania Ramos Access Advisor

Darwin Morales Junior Cohort Coordinator

Lamont Gordon Executive Director

OUR GROWING COMMUNITY OUR GROWING COMMUNITY OUR GROWING COMMUNITY

Foundation & Corporate supporters

Aaronson Lavoie Streitfeld

Diaz & Co Amica Angell Foundation Anonymous

BankNewport BankRI

Barrett Family Foundation Black Philanthropy

Bannister Fund

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Champlin Foundation Charles and Nancy Dunn Family Foundation

City of Providence, Community Development Block Grant

Coastal1 Credit Union CVS Health Entelco Foundation

Fidelity Investments

Harry M., Miriam C., & William C. Horton Fund, Bank of America, N. A. Trustee

June Rockwell Levy Foundation

Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation, Bank of America, N. A. Trustee

Lyman B. Brainerd Family Foundation

Mary Dexter Chafee Fund

Nellie Mae Educational Foundation

Nordson Corporation Foundation

Otto H. York Foundation

Papitto Opportunity Connection

Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company

Rallis Conover Family Fund

Renaissance Charitable Foundation

Rhode Island Foundation Robinson Mountain Trust Simple Pleasures

Southwest Airlines The Carter Fund The Frieda Mueller Fund The Providence Shelter The Sidney E. Frank Foundation

Walmart Individual Donors

Gifts of $5,000+ Deborah Obalil & Jim Olick Terry Meyer Tom & Alix Moffatt

$2,500-$4,999 Clayton Rockefeller Cassandra Stafford-Richter & Jack Richter

$1,000-$2,449 Mary Grace Almandrez Anonmymous William Bennett Carolyn Birnbaum Anonymous Jean S. Callaghan Richard & Inge Chafee Howard & Nancy Chudacoff

Sara & Jeffrey Enright Yetunde Flicker

Abel Hernandez

Dione D. Kenyon Tim Monroe & Cheryl Nixon

Simon Moore Luckson Omoaregba

Angela Romans Frederick Roses Paula & Jeremy Sager Andrea Toon & Joel Cohen

$500-$999

Michael Allio

Soumangue Basse & Amanda Regino

Brent Canning Daniel Finer

Carol Golden & Stuart Einhorn

Ryan Hathaway & Jason Showalter

Bill & Ann Hinderer Dorothy Hiralien Don & Mary McClure

Brian Paul Russell & Carla Ricci Lisa Rodier

Daniel Rodriguez & Susan Rohwer

Joan Sorensen Annie Steele Fran Steele

Dominique Taylor Jennifer Wood & Bob Lee

$250-$499

Christina Anderson

Jeffrey & Jessica Brier Jessica Brown Carol Cummins

Barbara Derbyshire David Edelman

Marc & Susan Greenfield Jill Harrington Moira Hinderer

Paul Hirst

Kelsey Johnson William & Dione Kenyon

Rebecca Kessler

Jenny Lafleur

Jack & Sara McConnell

Tina Meetran

Mary & Sandy Moore

Martha Moore Martha Murphy Bevin Murphy Kathleen Murphy-Shiffman Kat Murray Kimberly J. Noble

William Obalil

R. David Persson

Grant Porter

Janice & James Prochaska

Joanne Rich

Elizabeth Roberts Joshua Rodriguez Liuba Ruiz

Marcia Russell

Phoebe Salten & Merrill Weingrod Cicily Shaw Alex Stine

Carlton & Kathleen Tucker Barbara Vincent Mary Brooks Wall Ellen Welty

Joshua Wynn & Danika Severino Wynn Rafael A. Zapata

$100-$249

Adrienne Adeyemi Kathleen Afolabi Clarice Anderes

Melissa Antonelli Mikaila Arthur Anne Worthington Aycock Anthony Azanon

Xuewen Bankuti Arielle & Rob Basch

Robert Bedick & Marsha Miller

Winda Benedetti

Catherine Bennett Candice Bocala

Anne & Michael Brunson Elizabeth Burke Bryant & Daniel Bryant Cara Camacho Rose Catania

Keith Catone & Dulari

Tahbildar

Bill & Debbie Catone

Hope Chu

Mary & John Cloud

Jessie Curtner

Mary Dalton & Bob Ameen

Martha Dineen Wales & Ralph Wales

Melissa Dodd Patrick Donaldson

Sara Dorsch & Omar

Galarraga

Hermanett Douglas Jenn & Rich Dunn

Diane Ellis

Mary-Beth Fafard Nicanor Figueroa Diana Fishman & Ryan Adams

Joseph & Robert Fisler Kier Flicker

Barry Flicker Leslie Friedman Divina & Lorenzo Gamble Marissa Gendreau John Greene Jason Hernandez

William & Mary Hollinshead

Jill Holloway Rose Honey

Jessica Hopkins

Andrew Horwitz & Alexandra Callam Heather Hudson Barbara Hurst Andres Idarraga

Kristina Jajalla Ben-Oni Jean-Pierre David Karoff & Barbara Hunger

Geraldine Killilea Emily Kloeblen Andrew Koziol Richard & Karen Lambe Richard & Judith Lappin Dan Lewis & Jan Fleischner Ivette C. Luna Michael Mackenty Andre Manar

Adrienne Marshall Patricia McGauran & Ken Richmond

Brittany McGill Kira Mead Linda Mitchell Sara Mohr

Craig Mohr

Caroline Molloy-Calia Patricia Moore Ed Murphy

Dionne Nickerson & Sebastien Ezzahi

Eileen Orabone Robert Orsi & Christina Helmer

Abby & James Perry Rachel Peterson Ellen Polansky Precillia Redmond Hillary Reser Adriana Reyna Henry Rodriguez Bill & Sandi Rosen Sebastian Ruth & Minna Choi

Lynne Sacks Michelle Sanchez Jasowolu Saygbe Mark Schlagenhauf Daniel Schleifer & Johanna Walzak Lucie Searle

Carla Shalaby & Thomas Nikundiwe

Peggy & Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. Susan Smulyan Chris Soto Tracy Steffes Michael Stein & Hester Kaplan Deborah Steinberg & Ann Solomon Judith Swift Julie Tang Theda Tann Ann Tran Catherine Tyler Cindy Umanzor Claire Van Der Lee Louis Vassalotti Imeh Williams

Edmicelly Xavier Myrth York & David B. Green Lauren Zurier

Up to $99 Corey Auger Shannon Behrman Rick Benjamin & Margaret Klawunn Rachel Bishop

Sarah Bowman & Alexis

Thompson

Monique Briendel

Gretchen Brion-Meisells

Wendy Brusick & Gregory

Stiener

Kelley Buhles April Champion

Kate Arthur Chute

Marjorie Cohen

Kathryn Crewe Kelly

Gonzalo Cuervo

Michael Czaplicki

Doris De Los Santos Mike & Kelly DeAngelis Revelynn Doctolero

Shauna Duffy

Danielle Eagan Debbie Edelberg

Ted Famiglietti

Sara Florencio

Jim Gannaway

Diagneris Garcia Juan German

David Good Monica Gray Todd Grindal Ruth Gutman

Nicole Haas-Rodriguez

Aneal Helms

Rochelle Henderson Marc & Hedwige Hiralien

Rinna Hoffman

Matt Isbell

David C-H Johnston

Michelle Kalinski

Tamara Kaplan Ayellor Karbah

Joelisa Khun

Helene Kisch

Alan Krinsky

Patricia Kunhardt Pimentel

Linda Kushner

Lisa Laforest Nirva LaFortune

Ariel Lambe & Kevin

Mercik

Rachel Levy Sven Liden Peggy Lo Sandra Lopez

Amanda Lou Doster

Alexis Lynch Pam MacColl

Onelissa Martinez Matthew McDonals & Jing

Yuan

Rachel Miller Monephia Nembhard Alexandra Ocampo Nwando Ofokansi

Erin Payne

Ratana Phav Lindsey Ravizza Jennifer Recinos

Victoria Restler Nancy Riley Monica Rodriguez Erin Romero

John Rossheim

Stefan Schachtell

Don Schim J. Scot Wolf Aron Shafran

Nina Shapiro Bridget Siegel Andre D. Sol Mary & Jay Steinberg

Bruno Sukys Aarav Sundaresh Jill Teeters

Julia Testa Carlos Then Sheyna Trujillo Aly Vieira Skyler Ng Darie Ward-Cherry Janice Weisfeld & Francis Haines

Karin & Edward Wetherill Chanda Yarborough David Ziff Leslie & Michael Zimring

Message from Message from Message from

simon moore: simon moore: simon moore:

"I've been so proud to see College Visions growing, adapting, and finding new ways to support students to thrive during the pandemic. The result is more low-income, first-gen students earning college degrees. This is a critical element of the fight for racial and economic justice in Rhode Island. College Visions is thriving and still has ambitious plans to do even more. This is why I continue to be an enthusiastic donor."

Simon Moore Founder of College Visions