Help Circle Match Expand to 12 Schools: Budget Cuts Threaten the Program’s Ability to Scale and Serve More Students

This year, unprecedented budget cuts across New Jersey, New York, and Los Angeles have created major gaps in school funding. Several of our partner high schools can no longer cover the full cost of Circle Match’s college-access program—and a few cannot pay for it at all.

Each Circle Match program costs approximately $25,000, and for many schools, donations are the only way to fill the gap left by budget cuts. Your support ensures that students from low-income communities continue receiving one-on-one advising, leadership development, application support, and access to opportunities that would otherwise disappear.

By giving today, you help us continue serving students at multiple schools whose budgets were slashed this year—schools that want Circle Match, need Circle Match, but cannot cover the full cost of our program to allow for its sustainability at their school.

Your gift keeps our programs alive.

Your Donation Keeps These Programs Alive—All Year Long

Your gift provides immediate, tangible impact:

$25

Purchases pizza during advising sessions for our near-peer advisors—supporting the people who support our students.

$100

Provides food for our “Hometowns” — a Circle Match tradition that brings students together to feel closer to their community.

$350

Allows us to visit a partner high school and deliver an information session to source the next generation of changemakers in their communities.

$500

Hosts a guest speaker for professional development for our college advisors.

$1,000

Supports Circle Match’s ability to train advisors with expert-led workshops and coaching.

Our Track Record of Impact

Circle Match is a community-rooted nonprofit supporting driven students from historically underserved backgrounds through the college application process—and into leadership roles in their own communities.

Our outcomes speak for themselves:

100% of students admitted to a four-year college
96% accepted to highly selective universities
1/3 admitted to Ivy League institutions
75%+ of alumni return as near-peer mentors

Circle Match is more than a college-access program. It’s a pay-it-forward leadership pipeline—where students return to mentor younger peers, lead workshops, and open doors for others the way someone once opened a door for them.

This is what makes Circle Match different: we grow students into leaders who return to invest in their own communities.

When you give, you’re not just supporting one student—you’re investing in our students’ abilities to lead the next generation of scholars, leaders, and friends.

Light The Torch - Circle Match Time of Giving

Where Leaders Come To Light

Team Members