25 May, 2021
Carolina Youth Coalition Awarded a 2021 Women’s Impact Fund Grant $95K Women’s Impact Fund to support youth from under-resourced communities to attend college. Charlotte, NC - Carolina Youth Coalition (CYC) has received $95,000 from Women’s Impact Fund to expand its best-in-class college prep programming to more youth across the city of Charlotte. The grant was announced at the annual meeting of Women’s Impact Fund which was held virtually on May 10th, 2021. This year, Women’s Impact Fund awarded more than $430,000 to seven local non-profits in the areas of Arts & Culture, Education, Environment, Health, Human Services, and Spark grants focusing on mental health and racial equity. Since 2003, the fund has awarded $6.8 million to organizations serving Charlotte. The grant will fund Carolina Youth Coalition’s expansion of its college prep program for high-performing, under-resourced students. Next Fall, they will welcome their inaugural ninth grade cohort to a program that will serve 150 high school students from across the Charlotte area. Funds will also be used to provide transportation and technology to program participants. Since 2018, program participants have redeemed $4.9 million in scholarships and grants. Over 50% of participants attending 4-year universities are doing so debt-free. 92% of CYC’s college students are first-generation college students. “Women’s Impact Fund is proud to support Carolina Youth Coalition’s comprehensive, culturally-sensitive approach to college admission and persistence for high-achieving, low-income students in the Charlotte area. We are thrilled that the program will expand to younger cohorts, allowing students to set themselves up for success in college and beyond, even earlier in their high school careers,” said Patricia Massey Hoke, Executive Director of Women’s Impact Fund. About Women’s Impact Fund Since 2003, Women’s Impact Fund has amplified the significant role women play in philanthropy. Its mission is to strengthen communities by maximizing women’s leadership in philanthropy through collective giving, education and member engagement. With approximately 500 members, the organization has emerged as one of the largest women’s collective giving groups in the country and continues to create powerful change within Mecklenburg County. To date, Women’s Impact Fund has made 91 grants totaling more than $6.8 million. For more information, visit www.womensimpactfund.org. About Carolina Youth Coalition Carolina Youth Coalition (CYC) is a college-access nonprofit organization that prepares high-achieving, under-resourced high school students to get into, excel at, and graduate from college so they can become full participants in society. CYC offers free out-of-school-time programming featuring personalized college application support, standardized test prep, writing coaching, college tours, 1:1 mentoring, connection to career exploration and scholarship opportunities, and social justice-based dialogue. The program begins with students as early as 10th grade and provides support to students throughout their time in college. For more information, visit www.carolinayouth.org. CONTACT: Aaron Randolph, Executive Director, aaron@carolinayouth.org, 386-288-8865