Deloitte Foundation Grants

The Deloitte Foundation continues to drive education initiatives that help build pathways to opportunity for the workforce of tomorrow. In spring 2022, the Foundation awarded a $1,320,000 grant to provide college scholarships to graduating seniors across the Cristo Rey Network Class of 2022 to help economically disadvantaged students attend college and pursue accounting and STEM careers.

In 2021 investment of $558,000 from the Deloitte Foundation reached 70 Cristo Rey scholars across the Network’s Class of 2021. In 2022, each local Cristo Rey school is selecting four to eight recipients, named Deloitte Foundation Scholars, who will each be awarded $5,000-$10,000 towards their chosen four-year degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Data Science, Data Analytics, or Math. Furthermore, each Deloitte Foundation Scholar needs to demonstrate academic, leadership excellence, and financial need.

Each local Cristo Rey school’s college counseling team, along with school leaders, are selecting recipients, who have been admitted to college and intend to pursue majors in the academic disciplines listed above. In addition to demonstrating financial need, Deloitte Foundation Scholars must demonstrate academic and leadership excellence. More than 250 students could be awarded scholarships to help broaden the pool of diverse business, accounting and STEM talent.

“This generosity is truly life-changing for students. College acceptance is only one part of the process, as financial limitations are more often the determining factor in which school a student ultimately attends,” remarked Dr. Anthony Zavagnin, Principal at Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School in Methuen, MA. “This grant will once again open doors for deserving students and ease the burden on families.”

Beyond the scholarships

The grants to fund these scholarships are only one piece of the critical support offered to students to help them persist along education and career pathways.

Over the course of their four years at Cristo Rey, students have participated in a Cristo Rey Corporate Work Study Program that introduced them to a range of career options, including possibilities in business and STEM. Through course work and work study, students developed skills and interests in areas such as accounting, computer science, and data analytics, as well as a passion for pursuing further study and a strong foundation toward continued success in these areas.

Deloitte Foundation Scholars, along with any student enrolled in college, will receive individualized guidance from an alumni advisor employed at a local Cristo Rey school as students navigate their postsecondary trajectory.

In cases where Deloitte Foundation Scholars matriculate to a Cristo Rey Network University Partner, the students have access to additional on-campus support systems for lower-income and first-generation students to help propel them along education pathways and their career preparation journeys.