What College Success Foundation does

College Success Foundation (CSF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, founded in 2000 and operating across Washington State and the District of Columbia. The organization delivers college access and completion support to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds through three integrated product lines: (1) Direct Student Programs, in which advisors are embedded in partner schools and districts serving grades 6-12 through college completion with holistic academic, emotional, financial, and social coaching; (2) a portfolio of scholarship programs, including the Leadership 1000 Scholarship, DC Leadership 1000, Governors' Scholarship for Foster Youth, Costco Employee Scholarship, BECU Foundation Scholarship, Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, Empowering Equality Scholarship, and Summer Session Award; and (3) a Financial Aid Hub providing guidance on FAFSA/WASFA, federal aid, student loans, award letters, and appeals.

CSF's business model is grant- and donation-funded rather than commercial. It operates no software product, charges no tuition, and collects no transactional revenue; funding flows from corporate partners (Costco, BECU), philanthropic partners (Gates Foundation via the Horizons Regional Grant Program), state agencies (Washington Student Achievement Council), and individual donors, supplemented by a scholarship-administration service offered to external funders via 'Let CSF Manage Your Scholarships.' Its go-to-market is partnership-driven: advisors are placed inside partner schools, and CSF leads or co-leads collective-impact initiatives such as the Washington Passport Network and the PREP (Postsecondary Readiness and Enrollment on the Peninsulas) initiative. CSF also reaches foster care and unaccompanied homeless youth through the Passport to Careers program, and first-generation college students through TRIO Upward Bound.

The organization has produced thousands of college graduates since inception, holds Platinum Transparency status on Guidestar, and is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. There is no evidence of a proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capability, or API surface; CSF's competitive position rests on its embedded advising model, deep multi-stakeholder ecosystem (Gates, BECU, Costco, WSAC, West Sound STEM Network, MENTOR Washington), and 25-year operating history rather than on technology differentiation.

Name

College Success Foundation

Legal name

College Success Foundation

Website

https://collegesuccessfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

College Success Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that coaches and supports low-income, first-generation, foster, and homeless youth in Washington State and the District of Columbia through embedded school-based advising, financial aid navigation, and a portfolio of donor- and corporate-funded scholarships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

Keywords

• College access programs
• Scholarship administration
• Student advising services
• Nonprofit education support
• Financial aid assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellevue

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

College Success Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that coaches and supports underrepresented students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for, access, and graduate from college. It delivers its work through on-site school-based advising (grades 6-12 through college completion), administers multiple scholarship programs, provides a Financial Aid Hub of educational resources, and runs community outreach initiatives such as Parent University and the Washington Passport Network.

Product overview

College Success Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides a unified suite of educational support services rather than a software product platform. The organization offers scholarship management and administration programs, direct student support programs spanning grades 6-12 through college completion, a Financial Aid Hub with educational resources, and Parent University community outreach. These services are delivered through partnerships with schools, school districts, state agencies, and other organizations. The organization does not offer a technology product with modules or a software platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leadership 1000 Scholarship: A four-year scholarship for high school seniors attending eligible high schools in Washington state planning to enroll in a Washington state college or university.
• DC Leadership 1000 Scholarship
• Governors' Scholarship for Foster Youth
• Washington Passport Network
• Parent University
• CSF-DC TRIO Upward Bound
• Regional College Access Managers (RCAMs)

Products and services

• Scholarship Programs A portfolio of multi-year and one-time scholarship awards (including Leadership 1000, DC Leadership 1000, Governors' Scholarship for Foster Youth, BECU Foundation, Costco Employee, MLK, Empowering Equality, and Summer Session scholarships) that provide tuition assistance and financial gap funding to low-income, high-achieving, and underrepresented students attending college.
• Direct Student Programs School-based advising and coaching programs in which CSF advisors are embedded at partner schools and districts to support students from grades 6-12 through college completion, addressing academic readiness, emotional well-being, financial planning, and social support needs.
• Financial Aid Hub A free educational resource hub that helps students and families understand and navigate the college financial aid process, covering FAFSA/WASFA completion, federal updates, student loans, scholarship applications, award letters, special circumstance appeals, and bilingual (Spanish) support.
• Parent University A community-based outreach program offering monthly sessions for parents, guardians, and youth development circles that address social services needs including housing, adult education, healthcare, financial advising, and workforce readiness.
• Passport to Careers Program A specialized program providing scholarships and dedicated support services for young people who have experienced foster care or unaccompanied homelessness to access and complete postsecondary education.
• CSF-DC TRIO Upward Bound A federally funded TRIO Upward Bound college preparation program serving income-eligible and first-generation college students through CSF-DC, providing academic preparation and college readiness support.
• Washington Passport Network A statewide collective impact initiative led by CSF in partnership with the Washington Student Achievement Council that supports students from foster care and unaccompanied homeless youth, along with the adult professionals who serve them.
• PREP on the Peninsulas (Postsecondary Readiness and Enrollment) A three-year cross-sector regional partnership funded by the Gates Foundation Horizons Regional Grant Program that helps students on the Washington Peninsulas continue their education and career training after high school.
• Regional College Access Managers (RCAMs) A program placing Regional College Access Managers across Washington to lead college readiness efforts and drive increases in FAFSA/WASFA completion among high school students in target regions.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• West Sound STEM NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWest Sound STEM Network coordinates the PREP (Postsecondary Readiness and Enrollment on the Peninsulas) initiative, a cross-sector regional partnership in which CSF serves as a core partner working to help students continue their education and career training after high school.
• Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSF staff lead the Washington Passport Network in partnership with the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC). The Passport Network is a statewide collective impact initiative supporting students from foster care, unaccompanied homeless youth, and the adult professionals who support them.
• MENTOR WashingtonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMENTOR Washington is a public-private partnership founded in 2004 that promotes, supports, and expands quality mentoring for positive youth development, academic success, and job and career readiness. CSF works with this network to provide capacity-building services and training for mentoring programs.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• QuestBridge: National nonprofit that connects high-achieving, low-income students with college admissions and full scholarships. Highly comparable to CSF in combining college access advising with scholarship funding for underserved populations.
• iMentor: Nonprofit pairing low-income students with college-educated mentors to support college access and completion. Highly comparable to CSF's mentor/coach-led model embedded in partner schools.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit providing one-on-one college advising to low-income and first-generation students from high school through college completion. Closely comparable to CSF's direct advising model, though scholarship administration is not its primary function.
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Large private foundation providing multi-year scholarships and support services to high-achieving, low-income students. Comparable to CSF's leadership-level scholarship programs (e.g., Leadership 1000) targeting high-achieving low-income students.
• uAspire: Nonprofit providing direct financial aid advising to low-income students. Comparable to CSF's Financial Aid Hub and FAFSA/WASFA completion support, though focused exclusively on the financial aid dimension rather than full wraparound support.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): Largest minority education organization in the U.S., administering scholarships and supporting member institutions. Highly comparable to CSF in mission of expanding college access for underrepresented low-income students through scholarships and wraparound support.
• Scholarship America: Largest nonprofit scholarship administrator in the U.S., managing corporate and foundation scholarship programs. Directly comparable to CSF's scholarship administration arm (CSF even advertises 'Let CSF Manage Your Scholarships').
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Nation's largest not-for-profit organization supporting Hispanic American higher education. Comparable to CSF in administering scholarships and providing advising/support services to underrepresented students pursuing college.

Broad incumbents

• National College Attainment Network (NCAN): National membership organization for college access programs serving underrepresented students. Comparable as a backbone/capacity-building organization in the same college access ecosystem, though not a direct service provider to students.
• College Board: Mission-driven nonprofit administering the SAT and operating large-scale college access programs (e.g., BigFuture). Comparable as a broader incumbent in the college access space, though its scale and product portfolio vastly exceed CSF's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/College_Success
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/college-success-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about College Success Foundation