Fidelity committing $250M toward scholarships, mentoring for underserved minority students

Fidelity Investments, a popular financial services corporation, announced a $250 million commitment to give educational opportunities to Black, Latino and underserved communities.

The $250 million will go to the newly launched “Invest in My Education” program to provide scholarships and mentorships for those in underserved communities. 

“Invest in My Education (ME) is designed as a long-term, personalized approach to improve post-graduation outcomes for Black, Latinx, and other historically underserved students, supporting the opportunity for economic mobility and a foundation to build a path toward generational wealth,” the company wrote. 

Invest in My Education has three parts: the Fidelity Scholars Program, retention and completion grants and ecosystem-building grants.

The Fidelity Scholars Program will give scholarships towards college or a certificate program, and also provide mentorship, internship guidance and financial education to students.

The first cohort for the program will begin this summer, with students able to apply at the beginning of March. 

Retention and completion grants will be given to those in danger of dropping out due to unpaid tuition and other academic fees.

The announcement of the program points out that Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to drop out of their post-secondary education. 

The ecosystem-building grants will go to nonprofit organizations whose goals are to help more Black, Latino and underserved communities complete high school and college. 

“Invest in My Education upholds Fidelity’s most fundamental value — to empower individuals to strengthen and secure their financial futures,” said Pamela Everhart, head of regional public affairs and community relations for Fidelity Investments. “By taking a unique, long-term and holistic approach, Invest in My Education has the potential to support economic mobility for up to 50,000 students over the next five years—and that is really just the beginning.”

Fidelity says they will be measuring the success of this new program through college completion rates, amount of debt after college and rate of good-paying jobs obtained by the students after school.

The initiative will first be launched in the cities of Boston, Raleigh and Dallas where Fidelity “has significant associate presence” before expanding.