OUR MISSION—We are City Scholars® Foundation, a tax-exempt, for-purpose corporation founded in 1993. Our mission is simple. Our strategy works. Our impact is exponential. We believe every child deserves a quality education—regardless of their zip code or family income. In high-poverty, under-resourced communities, education nonprofits play a critical role helping youth succeed both in and out of the classroom. That’s why we're passionately committed to our MISSION—helping education nonprofits thrive to ensure thousands of low-income youth have a better chance to learn and achieve against the odds. THE CHALLENGE—Give the power of education to transform lives—and the persistent barriers facing low-income youth—our mission to help education nonprofits thrive has never been more urgent. To thrive amid rising demand, shifting resources, escalating costs, and increasing complexity, education nonprofits depend upon resourceful, resilient, and collaborative leaders who need more than heart to keep the lights on and the doors open. Heart is the fuel; operational leadership and infrastructure are the engine. That’s where we come in. OUR STRATEGY: Through our signature investment, the City Scholars® Fellowship for Education—a collaborative, multi-year leadership institute—we bring nonprofit CEOs, distinguished as City Scholars® Foundation Fellows, together with a committed team of executives, educators, and entrepreneurs to grow critical education nonprofits from survival to success to significance. Formally nominated and rigorously vetted, Foundation Fellows participate at no cost to the education nonprofits they lead—removing any financial barriers to engagement and keeping limited nonprofit resources focused on the youth they serve. Each Foundation Fellow’s continued participation is reviewed annually. Currently, Foundation Fellows lead 23 education nonprofits that collectively help more than 40,000 low-income, high-potential youth each year across the Greater Los Angeles region succeed in school, at work, and in life. Five of these nonprofits are also current or past Ralph M. Parsons Foundation grantees, and 76% of total youth served live in Los Angeles County. Convening year-round, the Fellowship for Education is grounded in the CEO ESSENTIALS® for Effective Nonprofits—our proprietary leadership playbook, created to be practical, timeless, universally applicable, and highly actionable. This shared framework defines the essential characteristics of effective nonprofits and offers a common leadership language that unites our diverse Fellowship for Education community—including emerging and established nonprofit leaders and organizations, along with the executive volunteers who partner with them. Strategic monthly convenings, leadership challenges, executive coaching, and small-group deep dives bring the CEO ESSENTIALS® playbook to life—inspiring, challenging, equipping, supporting, and holding Foundation Fellows accountable to turn learning into leadership and knowledge into action that drives measurable, sustainable progress across: * Strategic Leadership * Board Development * Staff Development * Program Impact * Financial Leadership * Marketing & Communications * Fundraising * Strategic Planning * CEO Sustainability Knowledge is only the beginning. Transformation takes time, trust, and community. Our sustained investment fosters a deeply collaborative environment grounded in shared learning, creative problem-solving, and an abundance mindset. Foundation Fellows openly exchange resources, opportunities, and support to strengthen their leadership and organizations—ensuring no leader faces the challenges of leading an effective nonprofit alone. OUR IMPACT: Like a stone thrown in the water, the City Scholars® Fellowship for Education creates ripples of impact that extend far beyond the transformation of individual leaders. Because Foundation Fellows—a diverse community of emerging and established nonprofit CEOs—have extraordinary influence, strengthening their leadership creates a multiplier effect: stronger leaders build stronger organizations, stronger organizations serve more youth more effectively, and greater collaboration expands long-term impact across communities. Through the Fellowship for Education’s integration of learning, networking, accountability, collaboration, and long-term leadership investment, more than 85% of Foundation Fellows—within three years of admission to the Fellowship for Education community—report measurable gains in one or more of the following areas: • Stronger and more engaged boards and staff • Greater financial sustainability and operating reserves • Increased revenue and expanded organizational reach • More impactful programs for the youth they serve • Expanded commitment to authentic collaboration In 2025 alone, Foundation Fellows collectively led 22 diverse education nonprofits directly serving more than 35,000 youth—86.4% low-income—across the Greater Los Angeles region. 76% of youth served live in Los Angeles County. Reflecting the impact of sustained leadership investment, the majority of nonprofits led by Foundation Fellows maintained or increased both revenues and youth served.