By: Ali Meisel, Director of Development
At Fulfillment Fund, community is foundational to our mission. Without ours — students,
parents, partners, alumni, board members, donors, staff, and volunteers — the work we do would not be possible. Comprised of people from all walks of life, each member of our community contributes in a unique and essential way. It has enabled us to serve more than 28,000 students since our founding 45 years ago.
In reflecting back over this incredible history, we believe what has kept Fulfillment Fund going is our community’s deep sense of shared values and its resolve to activate to help students reach their highest potential. Each member, with ranging life experiences, cares passionately about ensuring our students receive the resources they need to thrive along their educational paths — and is committed to rolling up their sleeves to help.
Having our community come together at our first in-person event since 2019, Sip & Celebrate, brought a sense of affirmation and hope after an extremely trying two years and reinforced the importance of our collective efforts. Along these lines, our auxiliary boards are seeking greater interconnectedness in order to bring the richness of diverse lived experiences to the table.
For example, our ScholarBridge Board, which supports our post-college and career-readiness efforts, fundraisers, and advocates for our organization in the professional and corporate sphere, is now 10 members strong, including two Fulfillment Fund alumni and a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds. During this past school year, this group was instrumental to our efforts in so many ways. They sourced speakers and sponsors for Destination College and Career Expo; gave sound career guidance to high school students during our Career Speakers Series; and reached out to their networks to raise funds for and awareness about Fulfillment Fund, connecting us to grant opportunities and internships within their companies, and more. ScholarBridge is also collaborating with our alumni engagement efforts to plan a joint happy hour this summer.
In addition, the founding Board of our newly formed Young Professionals Network (YPN) is comprised of seven supporters, including three Fulfillment Fund alumni, who share a passion for education equity. Its mission is to advance Fulfillment Fund’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and volunteering, and they have organized themselves to ensure diverse backgrounds and experiences are always at the table as the group evolves, and its influence grows.
Since their formation in the fall of 2021, the YPN founding Board has leveraged existing Fulfillment Fund events to raise awareness about their group and our mission, created their own successful year-end fundraising campaign, and formed the foundation of an auxiliary group with an organized structure, roles, and responsibilities.
The future of Fulfillment Fund is inclusive and inspiring, with all voices woven into the fabric of the work we do. There’s a seat at the table just for you. Are you with us?
For more information about getting involved with ScholarBridge, please email ameisel@fulfillment.org. If you are a Fulfillment Fund alum and want to get reconnected to the alumni community, please email alumni@fulfillment.org. YPN will soon begin recruiting new members and would love to hear from anyone interested in learning more, please email yp@fulfillment.org for more information.