Big Shoulders Fund Works To Keep Schools Open, Increase Access

"Given the increasing interest in Big Shoulders Fund schools, we are preparing scholarship programs that will invite hundreds of new students into our schools.  This will not only help address short-term financial pressures, but will also be significant in improving the schools' long-term viability," said Big Shoulders Fund President and CEO Joshua Hale.

In the case of the three Big Shoulders Fund schools that have been announced to close, Big Shoulders Fund investments such as technology or other resources will be transferred to another Big Shoulders Fund school, and scholarship students will have the opportunity to take their scholarships to another Big Shoulders school. 

About Big Shoulders Fund

Big Shoulders Fund was founded in 1986 by business leaders, inspired by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, to provide assistance for the inner-city Catholic schools in Chicago. To date, the Big Shoulders Fund has raised over $240 million, which has been used to help defray tuition and operating costs at 93 inner-city elementary and secondary schools, and to assist with capital and other program enhancements at these schools. These schools educate nearly 24,000 children of whom 80% are minority, 61% living in poverty, and 32% are not Catholic. Fully 85% of students that graduate with Big Shoulders renewable scholarships enroll in college the following year of whom 86% enrolled at four-year universities, which is considerably higher than city, state, and national averages.

Big Shoulders has earned a four star rating from Charity Navigator for six years in a row measuring efficiency, transparency and accountability.   This is particularly significant because just three percent of charities have received at least six consecutive Four Star Ratings. The Fund is an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit entity that receives and distributes privately raised contributions.  For more information, visit http://www.bigshouldersfund.org or call 312-751-8337.

Rebecca Lindsay-Ryan [e-mail]312-751-3851

SOURCE Big Shoulders Fund

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