Support from philanthropic partners including LA2050 allowed Fulfillment Fund to expand its reach in Los Angeles and beyond, providing deeper, more individualized, and robust support to students and parents over the last year. In total, Fulfillment Fund served 3,660 unique students through our growing College Access and Success Programs in academic year 2022-23. Among those served last year, 99% identify as individuals of color, 94% live in socioeconomically disadvantaged households, and just 13% speak only English at home.

As context, only an estimated 15% low-income youth nationally attain a bachelor’s degree by age 24, compared with 59% of their high-income peers. And among low-income first-generation college students, more than a quarter drop out after their first year—four times the dropout rate of higher-income and second-generation students. Nationally, only 25% of Hispanic young adults report attaining a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 45% of Whites. Further, per the U.S. Department of Education, the college graduation rate for California’s English Language Learners across all income levels is just 72%, compared to nearly 86% for non-English Language Learners.

As this data clearly demonstrates, the odds are stacked against low-income, English-language learner students of color. Yet, year-over-year, Fulfillment Fund students consistently defy the odds. This past school year, for example:

• 96% of Fulfillment Fund seniors graduated from high school,
• 89% of our high school graduates enrolled in college (two- or four-year),
• 90% will be among the first in their family to attend college, and
• 94% of Fulfillment Fund college students continued to persist or had graduated from college.

Project Highlights

Grant funds from LA2050 supported expansion and enhancement of our Career Readiness initiatives. Knowing that a college degree alone does not guarantee a well-paying career path, job security, or the ability to keep advancing your opportunities in life, Fulfillment Fund begins working with high schoolers to explore career trajectories that align with each students’ goals and interests. Through early exposure to various professions, coupled with support to achieve success, we can have a remarkable impact on upward economic mobility for low-income youth.

In addition to the accomplishments shared in our March update, additional activities that resulted from (or were complemented by) this grant included:

Enhanced Career Speaker Series

Our third annual Career Speaker Series for high schoolers was held in March and April of 2023. This year we expanded the series over multiple weeks: the first round featured guest speakers from the entertainment industry, with the participation of volunteers representing Netflix, Televisa Univision, and Spectrum News 1. Next, after spring break, students had the chance to hear from professionals in architecture, manufacturing, and more. By starting conversations about careers in high school, students can better pick a major based on their future objectives.

Picture Your Perfect Career Day

In April 2023, our College Success team hosted our first Picture Your Perfect Career Day. Professional volunteers in Fulfillment Fund’s network gathered at our office to meet with college students and suggest edits to their resumes and cover letters. Students also had the opportunity to get headshots and graduation photos taken with a professional photographer.

Summer Fest and Holiday Homecoming

In June 2023, our College Success team hosted our second annual Summer Fest—a picnic style park hangout for our college students. It was a beautiful day to celebrate our students' accomplishments, motivate them to stay engaged with their Fulfillment Fund Advisor, and enjoy a delicious taco lunch while playing games and spending time with each other. Maintaining strong relationships with our students helps our team keep them motivated and on track, and able to step in with any needed social-emotional supports that are key to college and career success. We came together with our college students again in December for our annual Holiday Homecoming event—another great opportunity for students to connect with old friends, new friends, and Fulfillment Fund staff.

Ready for College Summer Institute

Offered over two different 4-day sessions in July and August, our newly launched Ready for College Summer Institute included conversations to help high schoolers think about their futures and how to select their best fit majors and colleges, given possible future career paths. Students also gained insights into navigating college sites, understanding what their colleges of interest require, and becoming organized and ready to apply—including learning how to fill out financial aid forms correctly. These skills are invaluable for getting a head start before entering the college application season.

New Career-Focused Webinars

As part of our initiative to bridge the gap between graduation and obtaining a career position, in September 2023 our College Success team launched our first Career Spotlight webinar series for Fulfillment Fund college students throughout the country. This ongoing series will be a great opportunity for our students to dive deeper with career professionals, engage with them personally, and gain a more robust understanding of different job choices. The first spotlight featured one of our Programs Committee volunteers who earned his MBA from UCLA Anderson and now works in consulting. In October, we also hosted a panel for college students featuring early-career professionals, who are also volunteer board members of Fulfillment Fund’s Young Professionals Network. This virtual engagement provided our students with real-world advice from young people just starting out in the world of work, sharing recently acquired insights to help students successfully transition from college to career.

Expanded Networking Events

September 2023 also marked our first Sundown Social—an enhanced version of last year’s ScholarBridge mixer, that this year also included Fulfillment Fund Alumni, board members, members of our Young Professionals Network, and other supporters plus Fulfillment Fund staff, who all gathered for an afternoon of drinks and appetizers. Events like these provide a fantastic opportunity for our alums to network with our community and staff, while deepening their connection with Fulfillment Fund.

Progress on Grant Objectives and Next Steps

We remain deeply grateful to LA2050, and to our award sponsor, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. With this “Youth Economic Advancement” grant, we were able to enhance and expand Fulfillment Fund’s career readiness initiatives for high school and college students. Grant objectives included: creating a new career readiness curriculum (achieved), launching new career-related webinars (achieved), growing our base of corporate partners and volunteer professionals (achieved/ongoing), developing our alumni program (ongoing), expanding our Career Expo and Career Series events (achieved), and opening a new staff position dedicated to this work (in progress). We also anticipated measurable increases in outcomes such as student satisfaction (in our annual year-end survey, 98% of responses were positive and 2% were neutral) and job placements (baseline data collection in progress).

As we shared in our interim report, we successfully launched an online Career Readiness classroom in the spring semester of 2023 to help college students gain proficiency in essential skills and knowledge as they move toward their professional goals. These modules will remain in the pilot phase in FY2024 as we continue to learn how best to incorporate them into our program. Concurrently, we anticipate adding a new Career Readiness Advisor position to our College Success team in FY2024, in line with the launch of our new three-year strategic plan. This plan will include concrete methods to evolve and scale our career readiness supports, including offering more individualized student supports, and stepping up engagement of partners in university offices and career centers to create a system of collaborators working together for our students’ career success. In the meantime, grant support has enabled us to continue harnessing the power of volunteers to offer the many innovative new career readiness opportunities described above.

Media links related to career readiness activities:

Deadline (Nov 2022): Kaplan/Perrone entertainment management firm partners with Fulfillment Fund, offering paid internship and sponsoring Career Expo.

Spectrum News 1 (Oct 2023): Fulfillment Fund’s Director of College Access quoted on the importance of finding the best-fit college and taking rankings with a grain of salt.