Finish Strong: Scholarships That Stay

Since awarding our first scholarship in 2014, Dissipating Disparities, Inc. (DDI) has invested more than $25,000 in scholarships to at least 34 students pursuing higher education and greater opportunity.

We are proud of that legacy. Now we want to build on it.

Like many scholarship programs, DDI has historically focused primarily on graduating high school seniors preparing to begin college. But tuition, books, housing, transportation, fees, technology, and everyday living expenses do not stop after freshman year.

In fact, students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior years can have an even harder time finding scholarships. A student may have successfully completed one, two, or three years of college and still find themselves facing a financial gap that threatens their ability to continue.

Sometimes the difference between staying enrolled and stepping away is not a full year's tuition.

It may be one unpaid balance.
One semester of books.
One required fee.
One unexpected expense.
One remaining gap.

DDI wants to help students finish what they started.

Through Give 8/28, we are raising support to expand the DDI scholarship program beyond primarily one-time freshman awards and toward a stronger college-persistence model.

Our vision includes:

• Larger scholarships for entering freshmen
• Renewable scholarships for qualifying DDI Scholars
• Scholarships specifically for sophomores, juniors, and seniors
• College persistence and completion awards for students facing financial gaps
• Support for tuition, books, required supplies, fees, and other qualifying educational expenses
• Stronger connections with DDI Scholars throughout their educational journey

We want to be able to tell a graduating senior:

“We don't just believe in getting you to college. We want to help you stay there.”

And we want to be able to tell an upperclassman struggling to fund another semester:

“You still matter. Your dream is still worth investing in. Keep going.”

That is the future of DDI's scholarship program.

Your Give 8/28 gift can become part of a larger community-funded scholarship, help offset books and educational expenses, close a smaller financial gap, or provide meaningful support toward a student's next semester. Larger gifts can help us begin building renewable awards that support students year after year.

Our long-term goal is to create a true DDI Scholar pathway: helping students enter college, supporting them as they progress, and encouraging them all the way to graduation.

Because college access matters—but college completion can change the trajectory of a life, a family, and a generation.

Give 8/28 celebrates Black philanthropy, community investment, and the power of grassroots organizations to create opportunity from within the communities they serve. This campaign is an opportunity to invest directly in students who are working toward a better future.

Help us give students more than a great start.

Help them Finish Strong.