Fast Facts

Philadelphia Futures: a union of White-Williams Scholars and Philadelphia Futures has produced significant and measurable results that have made our approach a model for organizations nationwide. 

• Philadelphia Futures was founded in 1989, and White-Williams Scholars was founded in 1800. The organizations merged in July 2011.
• Since 1918, White-Williams Scholars has provided financial stipends to thousands of high achieving, low-income students in Philadelphia.
• The first Sponsor-A-Scholar (SAS) class was recruited in 1990.
• Nearly 900 students have completed the high school portion of the SAS Program; 98% matriculate to college.
• The overall persistence rate of SAS and College Connection students is 85%.
• The potential college graduation rate for the SAS Classes of 2006-2008 is 66% - 13 percentage points above our overall SAS college graduation rate of 53%.
• More than 900 mentors have volunteered for the SAS Program.
• Annually, Philadelphia Futures publishes and distributes more than 40,000 copies of the Step Up to College guide. Step Up to College is the premier resource for Philadelphia's college-bound students and their families.
• Urban boys of color face overwhelming obstacles on their journey to college. In response to this national crisis, Philadelphia Futures created the Young Men's Initiative, which provides boys with opportunities to be exposed to positive male role models and helps to foster positive personal and academic outcomes.
• Each year, as the administrator of the Charles E. Ellis Trust for Girls, Philadelphia Futures awards more than $1 million in grants to young women residing in single-parent homes in Philadelphia for tuition assistance and to fund life-changing, academic-enrichment programs.