North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) launched a new fund on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to help its GED graduates pay for college, technical training and professional certifications.
The fund, called Beyond NFCC Scholar, comes with a dollar-for-dollar matching pledge from an anonymous donor. Every donation up to a combined $50,000 will be doubled, according to NFCC's announcement. If the community meets the full match, the fund would reach $100,000.
NFCC serves residents in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park and Roswell. The nonprofit's GED program enrolls about 30 students at any given time.
The new fund addresses a disparity in NFCC's own program. Last spring, 12 students earned their GEDs through NFCC, but only four received $5,000 scholarships to continue their education. NFCC said it wants to support all of its graduates.
In a January post on its website, NFCC described those four scholarship recipients. Three are single mothers pursuing nursing careers. One is studying pre-medicine. An anonymous community member funded the fourth scholarship after the organization could not narrow the field to three.
When scholarship recipient Ashley learned she would receive support, she said in January: "Thank you so much for not forgetting about me… and thank you for caring about me."
Beyond NFCC Scholar is broader than a traditional scholarship. Support can cover college tuition, continuing education, skilled trades or professional certification, NFCC said. The program also includes regular check-ins and connections to resources as graduates take their next steps.
Dr. Amy Gates Stroud, NFCC's president, spoke about the link between jobs and household stability at a Sept. 9 job fair. She told Appen Media that a job "can be so much more than a paycheck… it can be a step toward greater stability for an individual and their family."
No deadline for the matching gift campaign has been announced. Residents who want to contribute can visit NFCC's website. NFCC's Barbara Duffy Center is at 11275 Elkins Road in Roswell and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
