Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty for More Families in the Bay Area
Minds Matter is expanding throughout the Bay Area to help even more high-achieving, low-income students attend and graduate from selective colleges.
High-Achieving Low-Income Students Are Missing Out
Where you go to college can have a significant effect on how much money you earn, especially if you are a student of color or the first generation in your family to attend college.[1] But for first-generation students, even those who are high achievers, attending and graduating from a selective college can seem like an impossible dream. Many of these students instead attend less prestigious colleges or two-year colleges if they attend college at all, and others might start but not finish college.[2]
In the United States, there is one high-achieving low-income student for every two high-achievers from high-income families. And yet, only one high-achieving low-income student will graduate from a selective college in the U.S. for every 24 peers with high incomes. This phenomenon—in which qualified students do not “match” with or attend selective colleges - is known as undermatching.
Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay), formerly Minds Matter San Francisco (MMSF), is breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty by solving for undermatching. We make sure the students in our program are accepted to, have the financial means to attend, and graduate from top colleges. The cornerstone of our multidimensional program is long-term, dedicated mentorship. Every student in our program has access to two mentors, who stay paired together for three full years, meeting at least once a week during our Saturday program sessions, and in between as needed. They build a secure, trusted relationship that goes way beyond prepping for college entrance exams—and often beyond the three-year commitment.
Our Approach – Sustained, Dedicated Mentorship – Is Working
Research validates our approach. A new study shows that childhood friendships that cut across class and economic divides result in a 20% increase in future incomes for the low-income children.[1] Our own results are an even better measure of our program’s success over the past 12 years:
100% of students who graduated from the MMSF program have been accepted to four-year colleges.
100% are on track to graduate from college within 4 years.
78% of those students attend some of the most selective schools in the country.
Compared with their peers, MMBay students are 23 times more likely to graduate from a selective college.
We Are Multiplying the Impact We Are Making
These successes have a positive impact on more than just the students who graduate from our program. Our graduates share what they have learned with siblings and other relatives, enabling more family members to attend college. And they go on to earn more money than their parents, which allows them to raise the quality of life for their entire families and generations to come.
We will continue multiplying this positive impact by expanding our services to more students who have the drive and the ability to make a better life for themselves and their families through graduating from selective colleges. As Minds Matter Bay Area, we are expanding our program to additional cities around the Bay Area, starting with Oakland and San Jose. Next, we will target underserved schools within key school districts that serve higher proportions of socio-economically disadvantaged students in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Eventually we plan to reach students in Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Placer, San Joaquin, and Fresno counties.
We Need Your Help
We know our program works to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. And we know there are many more high-achieving low-income students in these new geographies who could benefit from our support. But we can’t do it alone. We need mentors, volunteers, and donors who believe in our mission and want to make a real difference in these students’ lives.
Volunteer with Minds Matter Bay Area www.mindsmatterbay.org/join
Donate and Support Our Expansion www.mindsmatterbay.org/donate-today
Fill Out a Prospective Student Form www.mindsmatterbay.org/apply