News

A Legacy of Hope

On the evening of Friday, March 15, Philadelphia Futures celebrated the unique and abiding connection that exists between our students and their sponsors. The Sponsor-A-Scholar (SAS) high school and college students - many for the first time - met the individuals and representatives of companies who have provided the financial resources to help them make successful journeys to- and through- college. Nearly 150 members of the Philadelphia Futures community - students, sponsors, supporters, Board members and staff - came together for this inspiring evening.

Our A Legacy of Hope dinner provided SAS students and sponsors with the opportunity to express their appreciation for the gifts each brings to Philadelphia Futures. Students, a staff member and a sponsor delivered powerful remarks during the dinner program. Centered around the theme of "Because of You", speakers conveyed how the people in the room have impacted their lives. Immediately following this moving presentation, all guests participated in the creation of a live "word cloud" by texting in a word to convey how students and sponsors have made a difference in their lives. The responses were then projected onto a large screen for everyone to see.

We were delighted that 6abc covered our Board member and 6abc News Anchor Rick Williams' participation in our A Legacy of Hope dinner. You can watch it here. KYW Newsradio also did a recent story about the SAS Program and how the financial resources donated by our sponsors provide critical resources to students. That story can be read here.

Futures Forward: A $1 Million New Year

Philadelphia Futures kicked-off 2013 in an electrifying way.

At our 2013 Annual Conference on January 5, we made an exciting announcement: long-time supporters John Langan and Judith Nadell have made a leadership gift of $1 million to help launch our new Strategic Plan.

It was indeed a very thrilling moment when this transformational gift was revealed to the more than 500 students, families, volunteer mentors, board members and friends in attendance. To relive the excitement of the day, please watch our "Million Dollar Movie" here.

Less than a week after the announcement, the gift and the impact it will have on Philadelphia Futures was the subject of a front page story in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The full piece can be found on philly.com here.

One Year Strong: New Annual Report is Released

Philadelphia Futures is proud to release our new 2011-2012 Annual Report - One Year Strong. This year's Annual Report provides our funders, supporters and friends with a comprehensive review of our program and financial results in our first full year following the merger between Philadelphia Futures and White-Williams Scholars.

The last year saw the vision for the merger begin to be realized. Our two boards are now one, we integrated staffs into one location, eliminated duplication of costs and efforts and addressed the many infrastructure issues associated with a merger of this type.

Most important, we leveraged the best practices of both organizations to improve the services being offered to Philadelphia's low-income, first-generation-to-college students. As a combined organization, we brought additional resources and expertise to our existing programs and services. We also significantly increased our capacity to extend our reach and impact to support student success across a range of populations and needs. We are proud to report that, in our first full year of our union, all of our programs posted strong results. Our college graduation rate for the SAS Program - our key benchmark data point - continues to rise. We are excited to be seeing the effects of our enhanced services over the last several years both at the high school and college levels.