The Challenge

Academic Achievement: 

⅓ of all college students identify as first-generation, but only 27% of them will earn a bachelor’s degree within 4 years of entering college (Center for First Generation Success, 2018)

Employment: 

Only 44% of first-gen graduates held a job that required a bachelor’s degree one-year after graduation (NASPA, 2021)

Wealth: 

Median household wealth for first-gen graduates is $61K, compared to $132K for similar households headed by non-first-gen graduates (Pew Research Center, 2021)

The first-gen gap often stems from lacking professional and social capital in their academic and professional journeys.

Rise First

At Rise First, we are a committed team of first-gen students and professionals working to develop a comprehensive online platform that empowers first-gen, low-income (FGLI) students and professionals.

Risefirst.org is an online platform/community with a goal to be a one-stop destination for all FGLI students and professionals to turn to for information, advice and support.

Your Support

Though we are incredibly proud of our work to date, we are only at the beginning stage of our journey to enabling first-gen success nationwide.

This giving season we are raising money to build awareness, continue to develop our content, and secure impactful partnerships so many more students can benefit.

Your generous contribution is a vote of support and will help us get closer to achieving our goal.

Your tax-exempt contribution will help us with the maintenance and growth of our platform, and creation of resources like the following:

• Monthly Newsletter: Curated career opportunities and knowledge sharing
• Resource Directory: 1.2K+ curated resources on website and LinkedIn
• Webinars and Roadmaps: Created tips and guides for First-Gen Low-Income students and professionals to navigate through college and professional journeys
• Curated Resources: Social media posts, including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, about challenges or tips related to the First-Gen Low-Income experience
• Financial pages: Educating First-Gen and Low-Income individuals about different financial topics, such as building credit and government bonds
• FGLI Reddit page: Engaging First-Gen Low-Income individuals via an online platform where sharing about common challenges is safe and encouraged

You can find us online through the following:

Our website: https://www.risefirst.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiseFirst1/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35461609/

Rise First Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN# 82-4407314).