Reeta Roy on The Future of Educational Philanthropy

Our President and CEO Reeta Roy recently discussed advancing social inclusion through scholarships and the key questions facing the future of educational philanthropy on a panel hosted by the Ford Foundation.

Reeta described The Foundation’s commitment to holistic support of Scholars by noting that mentoring, internship opportunities, counseling, and transitional support are integral to the Scholars Program. To be effective, support for scholarship students must go beyond financial commitment and support to be effective.

A key question raised on the panel was how partners and funders can more effectively collaborate to create programs that are impactful and supportive of students. Panelist Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), spoke to a need for partnerships to begin supporting students earlier at the K-12 levels. He said that to be prepared for the work they will encounter in college, students must be supported in obtaining the skills they will need to succeed at university throughout their primary and secondary education.

Finally, panelists spoke to the future of educational philanthropy. Don Graham, of the The Dream.US, urged the audience to immediately begin creating scholarships, no matter how small the program. By supporting the growth and education of new leaders, scholarship programs can positively affect and transform whole communities. This idea of transformative leadership is central to the Scholars Program–to educate scholars who will engage others to generate positive and lasting change.

Reeta closed by outlining the changes she’d like to see institutions make to improve their support of scholarship students. “I would like to see foundations and universities directly engage young people. We need to be tapping into their thinking and listening to their ideas of not just what they’d like to do, but how it could be achieved.”

Learn more about the The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program.