Nonprofit Spotlight: UPchieve
Giving
In October 2021, PennyLoafer donors collectively gave to UPchieve!
The Rundown
Years founded: 2017
Leadership: Co-founder and Executive Director, Aly Murray, was herself a low-income student, raised by her single mother from Cuba. A graduate of community college and Penn, she’s been featured in Forbes 30 under 30.
Issue they address: Lack of access to academic support for low-income students, which impacts HS and college graduation rates + upward mobility.
What they do: Free online, on-demand tutoring and college counseling for low-income students, 24/7
How they do it:
A network of dedicated, remote volunteer tutors in 15+ subjects.
Eligible students ages 13+ create an account and request support.
They’re matched with a tutor on the platform within 5 minutes - 24/7.
Platform has chat + whiteboard features.
Why they were chosen
UPchieve is impressive. They have a small, passionate team; many with lived experience as low-income students. They recently hit a huge milestone of helping 10,000 students through the platform.
- They have even bigger plans to scale, and are working on becoming 100% self-sustaining (not reliant on donations).
- It’s also one of only two edtech nonprofits to be accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator startup accelerator program.
For more, read some of their favorite student feedback.
Learning
What does the college completion gap look like? The commonly used indicator of college success is completing a bachelor’s degree in six years.
- Just 11% of students from the lowest-income quartile earn bachelor’s degrees within six years, compared with 58% of students who come from the highest-income group (5x greater).
- Up to 20% of high school students who are admitted to college and indicate they plan to go don’t show up in the fall. This phenomenon is known as “summer melt” and hits low-income and first-generation students the hardest. Often it’s for missed administrative deadlines, lack of support or sufficient financial aid.
- Graduates with a bachelor’s degree usually earn 66% more than those with only a high school diploma, and are much less likely to face unemployment.
Interested in flexible tutoring? UPchieve is always looking for volunteer, online academic coaches. Brush up on that algebra and help a student out!
If you enjoyed this and want to get involved, you can support the Quality Education cause on PennyLoafer, starting with as little as $5/month. Each month, you’ll support and learn about a different nonprofit working to improve the education system.