Golden Door Scholars

Name

Golden Door Scholars

Legal name

Road to Hire

Website

https://goldendoorscholars.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scholarship and Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• College scholarship programs
• Nonprofit education funding
• Student career coaching
• College access support
• Alumni mentorship network

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

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 channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Golden Door Scholars provides a four-year college scholarship covering tuition, room, and board at one of 20 partner colleges and universities, paired with monthly one-on-one Student Career Coaching, career readiness programming, mentorship, and an active alumni network. The program serves high-achieving students with high financial need who are residents of North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia, and is operated as a program under the Road to Hire 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Product overview

Golden Door Scholars operates as a single unified scholarship program offering comprehensive support services. The core Golden Door Scholarship provides four-year tuition coverage at 20 partner colleges and universities, supplemented by monthly Student Career Coaching, mentorship, and an alumni network. The program serves students primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, focusing on career-ready majors with high earning potential such as software engineering, data analytics, business analytics, and digital marketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Golden Door Scholarship A four-year scholarship program providing full tuition coverage at 20 partner colleges and universities (12 regional across NC, SC, GA and 8 non-regional), paired with comprehensive wraparound support for high-achieving students with high financial need who are residents of North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia.
• Student Career Coaching Monthly one-on-one meetings between scholars and dedicated Student Career Coaches designed to guarantee both career readiness and academic success throughout the college journey.
• Alumni Mentorship Network An ongoing community of 464 graduates who serve as volunteers, mentors, role models, and career coaches to support the next generation of scholars beyond graduation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 206 current scholars attending 100+ colleges and universities nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Davidson CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school - a four-year college working alongside Golden Door Scholars in sponsoring students with high financial need.
• Duke UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school providing sponsorship for Golden Door Scholars students.
• Elon UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school working alongside Golden Door Scholars.
• Guilford CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school providing sponsorship for students with high financial need.
• Meredith CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school in the Golden Door Scholars network.
• Oglethorpe UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school supporting Golden Door Scholars students.
• Queens University of CharlottecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school working with Golden Door Scholars.
• Wake Forest UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school providing sponsorship for Golden Door Scholars.
• Wingate UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner school supporting Golden Door Scholars students.
• Bard CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school in the Golden Door Scholars network.
• Case Western Reserve UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school providing sponsorship for Golden Door Scholars students.
• Georgetown UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school in the Golden Door Scholars network.
• Hamilton CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school providing sponsorship for students.
• Oberlin CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school working alongside Golden Door Scholars.
• Rhodes CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school in the Golden Door Scholars network.
• Smith CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school providing sponsorship for Golden Door Scholars students.
• Tufts UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school supporting the scholarship program.
• Belmont Abbey CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-regional partner school in the Golden Door Scholars network.
• The Dream.USminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization advocating for increased access to opportunity and elevating contributions of students from all backgrounds.

Scale indicators23 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation: Large corporate-funded scholarship program awarding achievement-based college scholarships nationwide. Comparable scholar profile (high-achieving high schoolers) with substantially larger endowment and broader geographic reach.
• United Negro College Fund (UNCF): Large national nonprofit funding scholarships and capacity-building at historically Black colleges and universities. Comparable scholarship-for-college mission serving high-financial-need students, with significantly broader institutional scope and scale.
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund: National organization supporting scholarships, leadership development, and career pathways at public HBCUs. Overlapping scholar population and scholarship-plus-support value proposition with GDS.

Emerging players

• College Possible: Nonprofit providing near-peer coaching and college access support to low-income students. Comparable wraparound support model and target population, with a coaching-intensive approach rather than direct tuition funding.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit providing one-on-one college access and success advising to first-generation students from low-income backgrounds. Directly comparable in coaching-driven, persistence-focused support model serving similar scholar demographics.

Direct peers

• Posse Foundation: Leadership scholarship program identifying and supporting cohorts of high-achieving students from diverse backgrounds at top colleges. Comparable in mission and partner-school model, with a distinctive cohort-based support approach versus GDS's individual coaching model.
• QuestBridge: National nonprofit connecting high-achieving, low-income students with scholarships and admissions at top colleges. Directly comparable to Golden Door Scholars in mission, scholar profile, and partner-school model, but operates at significantly larger scale across all 50 states.
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Major scholarship foundation providing multi-year college funding and support services to high-achieving, low-income students. Directly comparable scholar profile and wraparound support model, with substantially larger endowment and national reach.
• The Dream.US: National scholarship organization for undocumented and DACA students pursuing bachelor's degrees. Already a GDS partner organization and directly comparable in scholarship-for-college model and focus on populations excluded from federal aid.
• Horatio Alger Association: National scholarship program serving students who have faced and overcome adversity to pursue higher education. Closely comparable scholar profile and four-year scholarship-plus-support model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/golden-door-scholars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Golden Door Scholars