Grant helps OneFuture Coachella Valley with its educational mission
The nonprofit’s reach is significant and may remain so going deeper in 2025 thanks to a recent distribution from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the James Buchner Memorial Scholarship Fund. To that end, it’s fitting to note OneFuture’s impact since 2010.
OneFuture scholars have earned more than 1,165 bachelor’s degrees and 171 master’s degrees. Toss in nearly 500 associate degrees, 17 doctoral degrees and more than 535 health major degrees into those figures.
“Our organization is a backbone organization that runs what’s called the Regional Plan for College and Career Success,” said Sheila Thornton, president and CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley. “We connect the three school districts, all the major college partners for our region, nonprofits, all the major employers and other community members on a common plan to increase educational attainment as a driver of economic mobility for our students.”
Hundreds of individuals work on the regional plan at any given point in time, in fact.
“We have laid out a series of strategies that expand opportunity for low-income and underrepresented students to be able to be able to attend college,” Thornton said. “And for them to think about what their career pathway is, to get work experience and support what they need to be able to achieve their dreams.
It’s a huge lift, but OneFuture’s vast team has streamlined its operations significantly.
One of the organization’s key goals is that all students have a clear economic and academic path to and through college. Successfully completing post-secondary degrees, credentials or certificates is vital on this front. There’s also a big focus on students eventually landing a job with a viable financial path, which, in turn, allows them to contribute to a thriving economy.
“A big strategy for us is a regionally aligned scholarship giving,” Thornton said. “What that means is that OneFuture serves as like a hub and a connector for multiple organizations who give scholarships.”
The program is dubbed Scholar Success Program.
“Because the money for the scholarships is one thing,” Thornton said, “but more important is providing holistic support services that give college students the things that they need to be sure they don’t drop out or stop their journey. We want them to have sufficient access to resources beyond just dollars so that can help make them successful in college.”
Some of the partnerships involved in this in any given year include 15 to 18 local organizations. For instance, students involved in the Boys and Girls Club can apply for scholarships through that organization via OneFuture’s portal.
“Then they become a OneFuture scholar so that once they enter college, they’re getting one-on-one counseling from us,” Thornton said.
The nonprofit also works in career academies with the K-12 system in three different school districts locally.
Between its diverse and experienced leadership and a passionate board of directors, OneFuture aims to focus on new opportunities across the region, collaborating with new industries and expanding its unique scholarship program.
“It’s pretty powerful,” Thornton said. “We have a 92 percent persistence rate year to year, and that’s very high for students, especially those who are low-income and from underrepresented backgrounds.
“More importantly,” she said, “we’ve scholarshipped upwards of 3,000 students now since 2009 and awarded more than $18 million.”
Learn more at onefuturecv.org.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. Visit iegives.org.