Jeffco schools, CU match dollars for scholarships

BOULDER and GOLDEN — The Jeffco Schools Foundation and the University of Colorado Boulder will leverage each other’s scholarship funds to make an education at CU Boulder more accessible. The Jeffco Schools Foundation is providing more than $430,000 in scholarships through the support of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative to make a CU degree more affordable.  Meanwhile, CU Boulder is using donations from individuals and industry partners such as the Ball Foundation to double the impact of COSI dollars with matching scholarship funds for a combined total of more than $860,000 in student awards. Jeffco Public Schools, headquartered in Golden, will make its scholarships available in partnership with CU Boulder’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement. A longtime proponent of college affordability and a first-generation scholar himself, Philip DiStefano, CU Boulder chancellor, lauded the partnership as a way of increasing access to postsecondary education for students, including those who may be the first in their families to attend college. “We thank the state leaders who have made COSI possible. We are excited to add the Jeffco Schools Foundation to our family of partners, which will help us meet the needs of aspiring Jeffco Public Schools students who might not otherwise have access to a world-class education,” DiStefano said. Since it began in 2014, the Colorado legislature has leveraged $47 million to create a statewide network of student support and scholarship programs to boost opportunities, lower barriers to higher education and professional training programs, and provide Colorado residents with the academic and financial support they need to pursue their goals after high school graduation. COSI matches community dollars to fund institution and organization scholarship programs across the state.  
Source: BizWest