Collegiate Crossings

Background Statement

History of Collegiate Crossings

While serving as Development Director at Habitat for Humanity, Carey McClure noticed that children of low-income families were less likely to pursue higher education, in large part because they were unfamiliar with and overwhelmed by the necessary planning, application, and financing processes. By not pursuing postsecondary training, these children face considerable barriers to obtaining a credential with true labor market value (Institute for Higher Education Policy [IHEP], Portraits, 2010).

IHEP also cited that learning beyond high school has become a basic requirement for individual success in the labor market. By 2018, it is projected that 67% of Colorado jobs will require higher education-the 5th highest percentage in the country (Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, 2010). Unfortunately, in both the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School Districts, lower-income and Latino high school graduates are significantly less likely to go onto college, a key indicator for comfortable and economically stable lives (Boulder County Trends, 2013).

There is a direct correlation between higher education and poverty alleviation. Providing college planning services to low-income youth provides a direct opportunity to help the workforce of tomorrow get on a path to economic self-sufficiency. McClure began college planning consulting for low-income families in May 2010; many were first-generation college applicants. Through word of mouth, families from all economic backgrounds began seeking assistance. Working part-time, she helped 75 students enter college.

In summer of 2012, McClure filed for nonprofit status and launched Collegiate Crossings full-time. 501(c)3 status was granted by the IRS in November 2013. Collegiate Crossings is the only college planning service in Colorado that expressly focuses on serving low-income, lower-middle income, first-generation students, and underserved students. In addition, the organization also helps non-traditional, adult students (often primary providers), and current college students needing additional resources to complete their education and avoid dropping out.

By the start of 2015, the Collegiate Crossings was ready to transition out of its startup phase and into a growth period. Service definition became clearer - both in who the organization serves and the makeup of service deliverables.

Today, the organization's primary clientele is made up of two categories: 1) low-income families earning 250% or less of the poverty threshold are full-sponsored in our college planning program; 2) families earning between $60,000 - $120,000 per year and qualifying for lower-middle income-families who cannot afford the $4,000-$5000 average fee charged by for-profit college planners. In either category, we seek to serve the most underserved, those who are first-generation, and those who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

In 2015, our college planning service was redefined. No longer a-la-carte, piecemeal program, it became an all-inclusive, comprehensive program with unique service aspects that capitalize on a proven formula for college graduation:

Best Fit + Proper Financing + Right Preparation = Graduation.

The organizational also define new fundraising strategies, bolstering the in-house revenue stream created by our fee paying clients and identifying a new sponsorship-focused plan of action. Collegiate Crossings investigated organization structural options to support the existing and planned growth. The board of directors completed their first-ever board self-assessment, and with the help of staff and a volunteer consultant, developed a board book that defined new governance and operations standards to support organizational growth.

In 2016, Collegiate Crossings in partnership with the St. Vrain Valley School District's Education Foundation won the prestigious Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative New Partner Program Grant for a comprehensive, three-school college planning program for low-income students. That same year, Collegiate Crossings rolled out a partnership with Cheer Central, a competitive club, to offer support to athletes. The organization also formed a partnership with Origami Owl to create opportunities for families to earn money for college or college planning services and as a way to create a college planning sponsorship fund. Collegiate Crossings also launched a college planning team in Arizona in 2016.

As 2016 came to a close, Collegiate Crossings continued to venture farther out on the precipice of change-change that will grow the organization with clarity and strategic direction, serve more clients, and change the lives of future generations.

Over the next several years, Collegiate Crossings has refined its work to consist of in-pubic and on-line workshops. There are now several on-line platforms available (Go-to-Meeting, Zoom, Skype, Facetime…) for little cost to non-profits, to facilitate this work. CC also holds tight to its unique work of one-on-one counselling and planning services. There is no such thing as 'one size fits all' as every student is unique and has needs and passions that are not held by all those seeking a post-secondary education.

Keeping the individual plan alive and vibrant is attained by using the resources of groups like Indigo, Careerfulness and Enneagram. These tools allow Collegiate Crossings to identify the best avenue for guidance. Collegiate Crossings has developed partnerships with these groups with the sole purpose of serving students

One final update… due to Covid-19, like most of the USA… normal is not normal. All services are still being offered, but delivery of those services has changed. Let's hope normalcy returns