Mission

10,000 Degrees® is a nonprofit organization advancing educational equity by supporting students from low-income backgrounds to and through college so they can realize their full potential and positively impact their communities and the world. Since 1981, 10,000 Degrees has worked with more than 80,000 students and awarded over $113 million in scholarships, helping break the cycle of generational poverty. Through its Unbound Opportunity Model, 10,000 Degrees removes traditional barriers such as GPA and test score requirements, meets students where they are, supports multiple college pathways including community college, demystifies financial aid, and provides near-peer mentorship on high school and college campuses. The organization walks alongside students to, through, and beyond college with early college awareness, college and financial aid advising, scholarships and aid management, near-peer mentoring through college, community college transfer and completion support, and career readiness. Today, 10,000 Degrees reaches more than 16,000 students and alumni across eight Bay Area counties—Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Napa, Lake County—and Utah. All students served come from low-income backgrounds; 92% are the first in their families to go to college, and 93% are Black, Indigenous, Latine, and people of color. Its results are breaking odds: 80% of students graduate from four-year colleges, double the national average; community college students transfer to and graduate from four-year colleges at twice the national average; 90% graduate debt-free, compared with 31% nationally. In 2025 alone, 10,000 Degrees awarded close to $10 million in scholarships, helped leverage $73 million in additional free financial aid, and provided scholarships and support to 4,500 college students.