The organizations listed below are part of the 2024 Guide to Giving. Return to the guide’s homepage by clicking here.
Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES)—Montgomery College Foundation
Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES)—Montgomery College Foundation
(acesmontgomery.org) empowers students who are historically underrepresented in higher education to attain a bachelor’s degree and achieve professional success. As a dynamic collaboration involving MCPS, Montgomery College and The Universities at Shady Grove, ACES offers a structured and nurturing pathway toward college completion. Staff provide academic coaching and career experiences to more than 2,500 students each year.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $250 helps a student purchase textbooks for one semester.
– $1,000 provides a scholarship that keeps a student working toward their degree.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– One day: Share a career story as a guest speaker or offer career shadow experiences.
– Ongoing: Offer an opportunity to an intern.
SSL HOURS: Yes
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
CollegeTracks
CollegeTracks (collegetracksusa.org) believes every student deserves a pathway to prosperity. Its volunteers and staff empower hundreds of students who are the first in their families to go to college, primarily from immigrant and low-income households, to get through postsecondary education and on a career path. This includes one-on-one coaching to navigate the college application process, apply for scholarships and access financial aid. CollegeTracks serves 2,000 students each year.
HEADQUARTERED: Silver Spring
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $250 helps one high school senior submit the FAFSA (two hours of support).
– $1,500 provides one year of postsecondary admissions and financial advising for a high school senior (99% are accepted into college or postsecondary education).
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Weekly: Help students navigate the postsecondary admissions and financial aid processes and build networks.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
Future Link
Future Link (futurelinkmd.org) works with 300 young adults annually—many of them first-generation, remedial-level students facing challenges like homelessness, trauma and poverty—helping them navigate the path through education to a promising career. The program begins with a 15-week, college-level seminar that empowers students and equips them with essential workplace skills. Next comes a suite of services—mentorships, paid internships, career exploration, scholarships and employer networks—to help students finish college or trade school and enter the workforce. Each year, dozens attain college degrees, professional certifications and full-time employment.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 pays for a student textbook.
– $500 supports a networking event for 25 students.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Serve as a mentor, tutor or career coach.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
Generation Hope
Generation Hope (generationhope.org) ensures all student parents can succeed and experience economic mobility by engaging education and policy partners to drive systemic change, and providing direct support to teen parents in college, as well as their children, through holistic two-generation programming.
HEADQUARTERED: Washington, D.C.
SERVES: Metro region
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides culturally relevant, age-appropriate children’s books to build a family’s home library.
– $1,000 ensures that eight scholars can participate in career-readiness programming.
Volunteer opportunities:
– One day: Review resumes, offer career shadowing, or be a childcare volunteer
– Ongoing: Serve as a mentor or tutor scholars
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
