Posse Foundation

The Posse Foundation

Founded	1989;36 years ago (1989)
Founder	Deborah Bial
Location	14 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005, U.S.
Area served	United States
Website	www.possefoundation.org

The Posse Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with colleges and universities in the United States to provide student scholarships and leadership training. Posse has partnered with 64 U.S. colleges and universities. ^{[1] [2]} The organization is centered on a cohort-based model that admits students to attend college as part of a "Posse" of 10 peers. ^[3]

History

Posse was founded in 1989 by Deborah Bial, ^[4] first partnering with Vanderbilt University. After initially recruiting students solely from New York City, the program has expanded to serve students from more than 20 U.S. cities. ^{[5] [6]} The Posse Foundation's founder, Deborah Bial, received the MacArthur "Genius" Grant in 2007 for her work with Posse. ^[7]

In March 2010, the Posse Foundation was one of ten organizations chosen by President Barack Obama to receive a portion of his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize award money. ^[8]

In 2021, Posse announced the launch of the Posse Arts Program, a new initiative with the stated goal of supporting students in creative arts, conceived in collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Luis A. Miranda Jr., and the Miranda Family Fund. ^[9]

Awards and grants

In 2013, Google awarded Posse a Global Impact Award with a $1.2 million grant to launch the organization's Posse Veterans Program, an initiative to support post-September 11 attacks U.S. veterans in higher education and beyond. ^[10]

In June 2020, Netflix selected Posse for a $350,000 grant; the company donated $5 million to organizations for Black people. ^[11]

In December 2020, Posse received a $10 million gift from writer and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. ^[12]

Notable alumni

• Rana Abdelhamid, former congressional candidate, founder of Malikah – Middlebury College Posse alumna ^{[13] [14] [15]}
• Koby Altman, President of Basketball Operations, Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) – Middlebury College Posse alumnus ^{[16] [17] [18]}
• Shirley Collado, CEO, College Track; Ithaca College president emerita – Vanderbilt University Posse alumna ^{[19] [20]}
• Kameisha Jerae Hodge, writer – Lafayette College Posse alumna ^[21]
• Darius Scott, musician and songwriter known professionally as DIXSON (2022 Academy Award nominee, "Be Alive") – College of Wooster Posse alumnus ^[22]
• Amanda Septimo, New York State Assembly member – Vanderbilt University Posse alumna ^[23]
• Erica Spatz, professor and cardiologist, Yale School of Medicine – Vanderbilt University Posse alumna
• Robin Wonsley, Minneapolis City Council member – Carleton College Posse alumna ^[24]

References

1. "Posse: College Partners". Posse Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
2. "Posse: Partner College and University Profiles". Posse Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
3. "Deborah Bial of the Posse Foundation: Success Isn't Always About You". The New York Times . 4 October 2014. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
4. "Keeping up with McGraw Prize Winners: Deborah Bial, President and Founder of The Posse Foundation | Penn GSE". Penn Graduate School of Education. September 6, 2021. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
5. Posse: Mission and History
6. "Posse Scholars program celebrates 30 years of impact at Vanderbilt". news.vanderbilt.edu/. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
7. "Alum Awarded MacArthur Fellowship". Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
8. "How Obama spent his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize". Los Angeles Times. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
9. "'Hamilton' Creator Partners With Posse Foundation to Mentor Arts Students". wsj.com. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
10. "Global Impact Award to improve veterans' higher education". blog.google. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
11. "Netflix Pledges $5 Million to Support Black Creators, Youth and Black-Owned Businesses". yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
12. "MacKenzie Scott Gives Away $4.2 Billion, and Colleges Rejoice". insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
13. "Middlebury grad teaches Muslim empowerment". Burlingtonfreepress.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
14. Weiss, Suzannah. "How This 22-Year-Old Is Helping Muslim Women". Bustle.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
15. Murray, Christian (2022-06-02). "Astoria Progressive Bows Out of Congressional Race Due to Redistricting". Jackson Heights Post. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
16. Rigas, Andrew. "From Midd to Cleveland, Koby Altman '05 Rises to GM of Cavs". Middleburycampus.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
17. Cohen, Ben (23 August 2017). "The GM Behind the Biggest Trade of the NBA Season". Wsj.com. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
18. "Cleveland Cavaliers' Koby Altman agrees to contract extension, new title, sources say". ESPN. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
19. "At Ithaca College, a President Focused on Diversity". The New York Times . 7 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
20. "College Track Names Dr. Shirley M. Collado New President & CEO". collegetrack.org. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
21. "Expressing Herself" (PDF). Lafayette. 2009. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
22. "Wooster alumnus DIXSON nominated for Oscar with Beyoncé". College of Wooster. 2009. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
23. "Bronx Assemblywoman candidate and returning undergraduate student Amanda Septimo leads with compassion". vanderbilthustler.com. 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
24. Wonsley, Robin (May 6, 2020). "The Revolution is My Boyfriend". Minneapolis Interview Project. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

External links

• Official website