🩵 Sponsor a First-Generation Student’s Future

Right now, there is a brilliant student who has the grades, the work ethic, and the dream — but not the roadmap.

When you give, you’re not funding a program.

You're funding lifelong change and support for a student.

Students like Adrian and Eastwood, who are rewriting what’s possible for their families.

Without Sydney and her team, I would’ve been lost. I wouldn’t have known what colleges to apply to, how to apply, what essays to write… they guided me through every step.

— Adrian, Barrier Breakers Scholar, Future ROTC Scholar studying International Relations and Computer Science

Because donors believed in him, Eastwood Yeboah graduated Summa Cum Laude from Clark University and is now pursuing global health opportunities internationally.

This is what your giving makes possible.

At Barrier Breakers®, we make sure first-generation, low-income students don’t have to navigate college alone.

And it’s working.

100% College Acceptance. 100% College Graduation.
📍 90% earn merit scholarships
📍 7,000+ students supported nationwide
📍 $490M+ in scholarships secured

🎓 From High School to Career

More than 80% of our students are first-generation — meaning no parent navigated the U.S. college system before them.

We walk with them from high school — through college — into graduate school — and into high-impact careers in

🏥 Healthcare
💼 Business & Finance
🔬 STEM & Engineering
🌱 Environmental & Sustainability Careers
⚖️ Law & Public Leadership

Students receive free, personalized 1:1 advising, essay support, scholarship strategy, mentorship, and ongoing persistence check-ins.

We don’t disappear after acceptance letters arrive.
We stay until they graduate.

💜 Your Gift Makes This Possible

$2,500 sponsors a student from 11th grade through college graduation
$1,000 funds one full year of 1:1 advising
$100 funds a year of wellness check-ins
$25 sends one student to our virtual conferences

Give once. Give monthly. Or rally your family, workplace, or church to sponsor a student together.

Together, we can break barriers and transform futures.

Have questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to us at hello@barrier-breakers.org! You can also learn more about our work and how to get involved with us on our website.

Barrier Breakers® was started by our founder, Sydney Montgomery, a first-generation graduate of Princeton University, Harvard Law School, and Princeton Theological Seminary. She is an Obama USA Leader, Forbes 30 Under 30, TEDx Speaker, and One Young World Ambassador, championing the educational rights of first-generation students nationwide.

Help Low-Income, First-Generation Students Enter High-Impact Careers

Help a student from high school to college—to career