From GMS to SEN:

Dear friends,

On August 14th, I stood in a beautiful room at the Obama Presidential Center full of Gates Millennium Scholars turned builders, healers, organizers, educators, advocates and changemakers.  It was an extraordinary night, powerful with emotion and celebration, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

I am in my 20th year at UNCF leading the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, a $1.3 billion initiative geared toward proving that by removing the barrier of the cost of a college degree from highly capable individuals like yourself, opportunity would unleash your nascent potential. What I saw at the Pay It Forward Summit is the clearest demonstration that the Gates’ investment is wildly successful!  You are part of 20,000+ GMS alumni turning shared experience into mentorship, civic engagement, scholarship, and positive impact on your communities.

With our goal of growing your leadership, the scholarship was never meant to end at graduation. It was meant to be the beginning of a lifelong commitment to one another and to giving back to others — and I believe this network is only getting started, with a reach that will extend across our nation and, in time, our world. Accelerator grants already funding changemakers in community health, literacy, and beyond.

To everyone who was in that room: thank you for being a powerful, living testimony. To everyone reading this who wasn’t: there’s a place for you here too.

As I said that night, now is your turn. SEN needs you, your time, your talent and, importantly at this stage, your treasure. I am asking you to give annually and generously, with a minimum commitment of at least $100.00.

Every contribution keeps this momentum going, so please make a gift so that you are part of what SEN builds next.