CIC Partners with UPS Foundation to Strengthen Diversity Programs at Private Colleges

6/12/2017 — Washington, DC
No

Download a PDF of the press release.

​The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) has received a $100,000 grant from the UPS Foundation in support of CIC’s First Opportunity Partners Program, which funds diversity programs developed through CIC State Councils. Beginning in late June, CIC will accept proposals from its 29 State Council members to support innovative projects that enhance educational and career opportunities through access and success for underserved and underrepresented students.

Recent projects funded through CIC First Opportunity Partners Grants include an Expanded and Enhanced Peer Mentoring Program by Associated Colleges of Illinois; Expanding a Proven STEM Learning Model by the Michigan Colleges Alliance; Building First Opportunities through Workforce Development Initiatives by the Independent College Fund of New Jersey; and Excelencia Program – VFIC College Tours by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges (VFIC) in partnership with the Richmond Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“The enduring commitment of the UPS Foundation to state associations that are members of CIC and the opportunities that the Foundation’s support provides to private colleges and universities is most gratifying,” said Richard Ekman, president of CIC. “The Foundation’s investment in the mission and value of a liberal arts education is unprecedented in its scope and impact and in its encouragement of private giving by others. Thanks to the UPS Foundation, CIC’s First Opportunity Partners Program not only helps students attend private colleges, but it also helps them persist and succeed in college and beyond.”

Since its inception in 2005, the CIC First Opportunity Partners Program has distributed $1,197,339 to fund 42 state-based grant projects. Reported matching funds raised by the State Councils during the same period equaled $1,508,967, for total direct financial support of diversity programs of $2,706,306.

“The UPS Foundation is honored to support the Council of Independent Colleges and its State Councils in expanding access and success for underserved college students,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of the UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer. “Our goal is to fund powerful programs, like the CIC First Opportunity Partners Program and the CIC/UPS Scholarships, that make a lasting difference to the global community.”

​About the Council of Independent Colleges

The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 768 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conference of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state associations that organize programs and generate contributions for their member colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

About The UPS Foundation

Established in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, the UPS Foundation identifies areas where its backing clearly impacts social issues. The UPS Foundation has identified the following focus areas for giving: volunteerism, diversity, community safety, and the environment. In 2016, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $116.6 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation.