WINTER 2015

EVERY DAYWHEN YOUCOME TO WORK,

YOU DO A LOT MORE THAN JUST “COME TO..

..WORK.”

You help a young woman be the first in her family to earn a college degree.

You prevent a student from dropping out of school due to a financial emergency.

You help an at-risk high school kid realize he can make his life better through higher education.

Maybe you don’t think about it every day,

but the work we all do contributes to

making Great Lakes one of the largest

education philanthropies in the country.

Your work helps remove barriers that

otherwise would prevent thousands

of students from attending and completing

college each year. Thanks to you we can

fund grants, research and scholarships

that create brighter futures for low-income

students, students of color and students

who are the first in their families to

attend college.

Seeing more students graduate is our

top priority because it sets people up

for success in life. What’s more, we all

know those who don’t graduate are the

ones most likely to struggle in repaying

their student loans.

Through this first edition of Good Works,

we want to start showing you how the

results of your good work are put to

work—for the benefit of students across

the nation.

Look for future issues to follow every

quarter. And we invite you to share

them with family and friends, so they

can join in celebrating our collective

good works.

You help a young woman be the first in her family to earn a college degree.

You prevent a student from dropping out of school due to a financial emergency.

You help an at-risk high school kid realize he can make his life better through higher education.

WHAT IF ONLY $250 STOOD BETWEEN YOU AND THE DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE?

AND TOO OFTEN, STUDENTS HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DROP OUT...

Having to choose between paying tuition and fixing a flat tire, having a root canal,or replacing broken eyeglasses is a reality for many college students.

WHAT IF ONLY $250 STOOD BETWEEN YOU AND THE DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE?

AND TOO OFTEN, STUDENTS HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DROP OUT...

Having to choose between paying tuition and fixing a flat tire, having a root canal,or replacing broken eyeglasses is a reality for many college students.

The stress Jason Wolfgram felt when he

unexpectedly lost his job was compounded

by worrying that he might not be able

to make his car payments. And without

a car he couldn’t get to his classes and

would have to drop out of college. Those

thoughts were overwhelming to him.

Fortunately, our Emergency Grant

program was able to come to the rescue.

Jason heard about it through his advisor

at Wausau’s Northcentral Technical College.

He applied for the grant and had his car

payment two days later. That kept his

schooling on track and shortly thereafter

he found a new and better-paying job.

That was back in 2014 during the trial

run for our emergency grant program

at 16 technical colleges in Wisconsin.

Starting in January 2016, we’re expanding

the program to 31 colleges in four states—

Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa. With

$1.5 million in funding we expect to help

4,000 students over two-and-a-half years.

The plan is for colleges to get it rolling

and then contribute their own funds

to continue the program into the future.

Visit our DASH EMERGENCY GRANT WEB PAGE to learn more

THAT’S WHEN

EMERGENCY GRANTS COME TO THE RESCUE

EMERGENCY GRANTS

Jason WolfgramGreat Lakes Emergency Grant recipient

COACHING IT’S NOT JUST FOR ATHLETES

We know most superstar athletes rely on

coaches to help them achieve their peak

performance. So, why not apply that idea

to getting into and through college?

That’s what College Possible does.

With a small army of AmeriCorps volunteer

mentors (that are just like coaches),

College Possible starts working with high

school juniors and stays with them all the

way through college graduation.

So when a student thinks they’re not college

material, the coach is there to show them

they are. Not sure which classes to take?

The coach helps them make the right

choices. Exams coming up? The coach

gets them prepared, just like for game day.

Because for College Possible—to paraphrase

Vince Lombardi—graduating isn’t the only

thing. It’s everything.

Because of their good work over the past

15 years, we recently announced a three-year

grant to help College Possible expand their

service in Milwaukee and across Minnesota.

Robbinsdale Cooper High School student Mai Thao tackles her college admission essay with help from College Possible’s Jiksa Tafara.

Just awarded in November, our $2.2 million grant means over 6,000 students will receive coaching to help them get into and through college.

That’s quite a coaching staff you help support.

Visit our COLLEGE POSSIBLE GRANT WEB PAGE to learn more

COACHING IT’S NOT JUST FOR ATHLETES

COLLEGE POSSIBLE GRANTS

SingleStop

So far, Single Stop has helped nearly

150,000 students at over 30 colleges in 8 states

AND NOW WE’LL HELP THEM DO EVEN MORE!

SINGLE STOP

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT WHERE YOU’LL SLEEP AT NIGHT, YOU CAN’T FOCUS

ON YOUR STUDIES DURING THE DAY. Single Stop gets homeless students into housing—

and much more!

Think of Single Stop as the “Google of social services”

for low-income students. You type in what you need,

and Single Stop connects you to existing programs

for shelter, food, healthcare and other necessities these

students can’t afford. We’ve just made a grant to Single Stop

so they can expand and simplify their services—so more

students can get help and stay on track to graduation.

TOPS: TEENS OF PROMISE

Promising low-income

high school students often

don’t go to college because

no one encourages them.

Thanks to grants from Great Lakes,

the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County

works in Madison high schools

to boost grades and confidence!

And it works.

95% OF TOPS STUDENTS GO ON TO COLLEGE!

FU

NDIN

G FA

ST F

ACTS

So far, Single Stop has helped nearly

150,000 students at over 30 colleges in 8 states

AND NOW WE’LL HELP THEM DO EVEN MORE!

COLLEGE ACCESS ADVISING

194,000+ HIGH SCHOOLERS

SERVED!

Great Lakes has 12 College

Access Advisors who go into

low-income schools across

Wisconsin and South Dakota

with one mission: Getting kids

into college. We help students

select and apply to colleges—

and find ways to pay for it!

CARNEGIE MATH PATHWAYS

3XTHE SUCCESS IN

1/2 THE TIME

Students who fail college math

often drop out. And students

who drop out often default on

their loans. We’ve made a grant

to the Carnegie Foundation

to help change the way math

is taught—by making it more

“real world” focused—so more

students are set up for success.

TOPS: TEENS OF PROMISE

Promising low-income

high school students often

don’t go to college because

no one encourages them.

Thanks to grants from Great Lakes,

the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County

works in Madison high schools

to boost grades and confidence!

And it works.

95% OF TOPS STUDENTS GO ON TO COLLEGE!

Apprentices don’t make much money,

but are still required to buy expensive

gear. And if you don’t have money

for steel-toed boots you can’t work—

or complete training that leads

to a good salary. So we give $1,000

scholarships to outfit aspiring

carpenters, pipefitters, electricians

and more with tools for success.

7,000 REASONS TO PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK2015-2018 Career Ready Internship grants

totaling $12.2 million were awarded to

33 colleges in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa

and Ohio in October. Now those schools

will work with area employers to create

7,000 paid internships for low-income

students over the next three years.

Internships are proven to help students

complete their degrees and be better

prepared to get a job after graduation.

But many are unpaid. And low-income

students can’t afford to work for nothing.

Career Ready grants connect colleges

with businesses and businesses with

low-income students.

It’s a win-win-win scenario that helps

students get real-world experience

(and a paycheck!), colleges improve

their graduate placement rates

and businesses get a direct pipeline

to talented candidates.

Career Ready Internship Grant

COLLEGES

BUSINESSES

STUDENTS

Businesses develop internship programs in various disciplines

Colleges connect with local businesses and give

them money to pay interns

Students get paid to gain valuable experience that boosts their employment potential after graduation

CAREER READY INTERNSHIP GRANTS

Another cool thing about this grant:

it’s something we tested twice before,

so we know it works. We started with a

$2.5 million grant to 19 Wisconsin colleges

in 2013-2014. Expanded it in 2014-2015

to $5.2 million at 40 colleges in four

states. With our latest grant, we’ve

extended the time period to run from 2015

to 2018 to give the schools and businesses

time to see how valuable these internships

are and develop a plan to fund the program

themselves after the grant period ends.

That’s how we really like to work.

Plant the seeds, nurture what starts to

take hold, then let it thrive on its own.

Visit our CAREER READY INTERNSHIP GRANT WEB PAGE to learn more

OF INTERNSHIP RECIPIENTS GO ON TO GRADUATE

A perfect example of the Good Works our grants and your work does.

IT REALLY DOES WORK.April Opatik is a perfect example of an internship’s benefits. The University

of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and North Central Conservancy Trust offered

a 10-week internship that gave her the credits she needed to meet her

Land Use Planning degree requirements and the money to help cover

her senior year tuition. After graduation, the Wood County Planning and

Zoning Department saw her experience and quickly hired her, plus she still

volunteers for the NCCT to keep her hand in land conservancy work.

April OpatikGreat Lakes Career Ready Internship Grant recipient

CAREER READY INTERNSHIP GRANTS

YOU’RE HELPINGTRANSFORM YOUNG LIVES, SO KEEP UP THE

community.mygreatlakes.org ©2015 Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates. All rights reserved. (12/15)

GOOD WORKS W

INTER 2015