Florida College Access Network (FCAN) is pleased to announce a $1.4 million gift from Helios Education Foundation to support our mission of helping ensure every Floridian can achieve an education beyond high school and a rewarding career.
“We are humbled and excited by this incredibly generous gift, which will allow us to strengthen existing partnerships throughout the state and establish new ones,” said Charleita M. Richardson, FCAN’s executive director. “Ultimately, we are most grateful that this gift will give us the ability to have a greater impact on Florida’s students as they pursue their college and career goals.”
Hosted by the University of South Florida, FCAN partners with education stakeholders and communities throughout the state to bolster postsecondary attainment and serves as a source of non-partisan research and data for local and statewide leaders.
With support from Helios, FCAN will be able to continue to provide support to local college access networks (LCANs) across the state, create a college-going culture through four College Ready Florida initiatives, and build public knowledge of key trends and issues through policy briefs, data dashboards, and reports illuminating opportunity barriers to postsecondary attainment and policies and practices with promise to overcome them.
“In partnership with FCAN and leaders at the University of South Florida, Helios is focused on closing attainment gaps for all students — particularly first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students,” said Paul J. Luna, president and CEO of Helios Education Foundation. “We believe education changes lives and strengthens communities.”
This gift is the fourth made by Helios Education Foundation to support FCAN over the last decade, bringing their total investment in the organization to $5.1 million. Helios played a critical role in the creation and growth of FCAN in 2011 by providing a $200,000 gift to develop the initial FCAN business and strategic plans.
The full announcement from the University of South Florida, Helios Education, and Florida College Access Network can be found here.
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