Simon Scholars

What Simon Scholars does

Simon Scholars is a private nonprofit scholarship organization founded in 2003 and operated as a program of the Ronald M. Simon Family Foundation. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a secondary office in San Clemente, the organization serves first-generation college students in Orange County who demonstrate leadership potential and face personal or economic adversity. Its core product combines a need-based scholarship of up to $16,000 over four years with a MacBook Air laptop upon matriculation, plus long-term programmatic support spanning from the summer after sophomore year of high school through college graduation and into early career.

Programmatic offerings include a High School College Access Program with dedicated College Access Coordinators providing one-on-one college admissions, financial aid, and leadership development guidance; a College Success Program with mentorship and persistence support; a lifetime Alumni Association; an internal Volunteer Program engaging scholars and alumni as mentors; and a graduate-level Simon Scholar Physician Assistant Program at Chapman University offering full-tuition scholarships. The program operates through partnerships with over 50 Orange County high schools across multiple school districts (Capistrano, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport-Mesa) and community-based organizations including Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano and The Wooden Floor. Technology is limited to operational tooling (Salesforce/TargetX for application and intake management, Google Forms for volunteer signups).

The business model is nonprofit grant-funded: revenue derives from the Ronald M. Simon Family Foundation, the Sun Family Foundation, and corporate/community partners. There are no tuition or service fees to scholars. As of the most recent data, Simon Scholars has supported over 2,000 scholars, deployed nearly $100 million in combined financial aid and program support, currently supports nearly 600 college scholars at 99 institutions nationwide, and maintains a 96% six-year college graduation rate.

Name

Simon Scholars

Legal name

Simon Scholars Program

Website

https://simonscholars.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Simon Scholars is a Newport Beach-based nonprofit scholarship program of the Ronald M. Simon Family Foundation that supports first-generation Orange County students with financial aid, laptops, and long-term mentorship from high school through college graduation and career.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education / Nonprofit Scholarship Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment Development (EDALAOAC)

Keywords

• College scholarship program
• First-generation student support
• College access services
• Nonprofit education funding
• College success coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Foundation Grants: The Simon Scholars Program is a nonprofit scholarship initiative funded primarily through the Ronald M. Simon Family Foundation and partnerships with organizations like the Sun Family Foundation. Revenue comes from charitable contributions, foundation grants, and corporate partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Simon Scholars is a nonprofit scholarship program that provides need-based financial aid (up to $16,000 over four years) and a MacBook Air to first-generation, underserved high school students in Orange County, paired with one-on-one coaching, college access and success support, leadership development, and lifelong alumni services spanning from sophomore year through career. The program is operated under the Ronald M. Simon Family Foundation and funded primarily through charitable contributions and foundation grants.

Product overview

Simon Scholars is a single unified scholarship program with multiple interconnected support modules spanning from high school through career. The core offering combines financial scholarships (up to $16,000 over four years plus a MacBook Air) with integrated support programs including the High School College Access Program, College Success Program, Alumni Association, and Volunteer Program. The Chapman Physician Assistant Program partnership extends the offering to graduate education for select alumni.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Simon Scholar PA Program at Chapman University: A partnership with Chapman University providing full-tuition scholarships for students pursuing a Master's in Medical Science degree as Physician Assistants.

Products and services

• Simon Scholars Program (Core Scholarship)
• High School College Access Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% college graduation rate within six years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and supporting.

• Breakthrough San Juan CapistranocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2023Community-based program supporting students from middle school to college graduation. Partnership broadens reach throughout South Orange County region.
• Orange County Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational government partner supporting outreach efforts to identify prospective students and connect scholars to school and district-based services.
• Capistrano Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district whose high schools recommend eligible sophomores for the Simon Scholars program.
• Fullerton Joint Union High School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district with multiple high schools participating in the program.
• Huntington Beach Union High School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner school district supporting student outreach and application processes.
• Newport-Mesa Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner district with Costa Mesa High School and Estancia High School participating since 2014.
• Bentley UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst college partner in new college partnership initiative, providing knowledge and resources to help Simon Scholars succeed in their chosen fields.
• The Wooden FloorkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner offering meaningful channels to the program and services supporting scholars in developing skills and gaining real-world experience.
• Chapman UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome to the Simon Scholar Physician Assistant Program offering full-tuition scholarships for graduate students pursuing PA degrees.
• Working WardrobessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner offering services supporting scholar development.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ECMC Foundation: ECMC Foundation funds initiatives that improve higher education access and success for underserved students, sitting in the same philanthropic ecosystem as Simon Scholars but with a broader portfolio mandate.
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a large national foundation funding high-achieving, low-income students through undergraduate and graduate scholarships—overlapping in scholar profile but operating at significantly broader scale.
• AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination): AVID is a school-system-based college readiness program serving a much broader population than Simon Scholars, but shares the mission of preparing first-generation students for higher education through structured support.

Direct peers

• Schuler Scholar Program: Schuler Scholar Program offers comprehensive multi-year support—including financial aid, mentoring, and college success services—to high-achieving, first-generation students in Chicago, closely mirroring Simon Scholars' approach.
• College Possible: College Possible uses a near-peer coaching model to support low-income and first-generation students through college access and completion, operating a comparable intensive cohort-based support system.
• QuestBridge: QuestBridge connects high-achieving, low-income students—many first-generation—with full scholarships at top colleges and provides a similar comprehensive support model targeting the same scholar profile as Simon Scholars.
• College Track: College Track supports first-generation students from high school through college graduation and into careers, mirroring Simon Scholars' multi-year longitudinal support model and target student population.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line provides college access and success coaching specifically for first-generation students from low-income backgrounds, with a similarly intensive 1:1 advising model focused on graduation outcomes.
• Posse Foundation: Posse recruits diverse cohorts of high-achieving high school students and places them in supportive peer groups at partner colleges, sharing Simon Scholars' cohort-based, leadership-development model for underserved students.

Emerging players

• uAspire: uAspire focuses specifically on financial aid advising for first-generation and low-income students, representing a narrower overlap with Simon Scholars' broader wraparound services model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@simonscholarsprogram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/simon-scholars
• Instagraminstagram.com/simonscholarsprogram
• TikToktiktok.com/@simonscholarsprogram
• Xx.com/simonscholars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 Simon Scholars