Richmond Promise, which provides college scholarships and guidance to hundreds of high school graduates from Richmond and North Richmond every year, recently announced the launch of a new Fund that aims to sustain and enhance support for students into the future.
The Richmond Promise Scholarship Fund aims to develop a strong reserve to sustain and scale the program, which since 2016 has served over 3,300 students referred to as “scholars,” according to Executive Director Christopher Whitmore.
Richmond Promise launched courtesy of a $35 million, 10-year investment by Chevron Richmond. The funding is part of a $90 million community benefits agreement between the City of Richmond and Chevron connected to the $1 billion Refinery Modernization Project.
This year, the program anticipates paying out upward of $2 million in scholarship funds. Students can use the funds to pay for tuition, books, housing, food, and other education-related expenses. The Promise staff also supports students with guidance in their college journey, including with help in filling out financial aid applications.
“Providing annual scholarships to Richmond students has been the cornerstone of our programming since RP’s inception, and we want to continue to support Richmond students on their postsecondary journeys for years to come,” Whitmore said.
Richmond Promise encourages community members to consider making a donation and sharing this information about the new Scholarship Fund with their networks.
“Every contribution to the Scholarship Fund will go directly to supporting students,” Whitmore said.
