From austere beginnings come remarkable results.

In 1999, Ginny Donohue left a corporate career to found On Point for College, devoting her time and energy to the educational success of inner-city youth. For the first few years, she led the charge from the trunk of her car, which served as office space. As the program reached more students, it attracted the attention of donors and volunteers, who quickly caught on to the spirit -- and importance -- of Ginny's work. She had found, as one student put it, a way to share her "college access know-how." (Look back to 2009 when she shares her "aha moment" for a Mutual of Omaha video.)

Ginny knows that the biggest obstacles beg some of the simplest solutions. She built On Point on the basics, because that's where many would-be students fall away. Intimidated by the application process, skeptical about being able to afford college, and lacking basic transportation to get them to the dormitory door, many students are hindered by a fog of logistics that, to them, is a wall impossible to scale.

These students found in Ginny Donohue and On Point for College what they needed to achieve success in education.

Ginny Donohue wants the world to see how much it needs them.

WHO WE ARE

We are thirteen employees, one hundred sixty volunteers, and two thousand, eight hundred eighty-five first-generation college students.

One thousand sixty-nine of the students are in college at this moment.  We know because we drive them, counsel them, call them, intercede on their behalf if -- but only if -- necessary, and we go to their graduations.

On Point for College has been recognized for best practices in the nation by the National College Access Network and the Lumina Foundation for Education.  In 2008, the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce named On Point for College Non-Profit of the Year.

Its work has earned its founder, Ginny Donohue, the 2004 Post Standard Achievement Award; the 2003 Martin Luther King "Unsung Hero" Award from Syracuse University; and the Caring and Sharing Award from the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Syracuse. In 2004, she was one of five finalists for the national Ben & Jerry's "Citizen Cool" award and featured in their movie, The Difference.  In 2006, her work with On Point for College was recognized by Traditional Home magazine.  In 2008, she was awarded the Spirit of Lantern award, and a portrait of Ginny among her students has been hung in Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University.

Program Director Sam Rowser was chosen Onondaga County Youth Professional of the Year in 2007, and is recipient of the Racial Justice award in 2008.

Ginny began working from the trunk of her car, in 1999.

WHAT WE DO

On Point for College, Inc., is dedicated to making higher education accessible to low-income youth who have the desire and the will to continue their education, but who feel college is out of reach due to economic, academic and other barriers.

Because income and parental educational levels strongly influence the decision to attend college, On Point for College generally targets:

• Teens who are the first in their families to go to college (98% of our students)
• Low-income students who assume that college is financially inaccessible
• Teens from single-parent homes
• Students who fall through the cracks, including GED recipients and high-school grads
• Young adults who have no parent in their life to provide guidance (over 20% of our students), including those who are homeless, aging out of foster care, or refugees

HOW WE DO IT

It's not just "fill out a form and take our pamphlet."

• We begin with One-on-one counseling - choosing a college, financial aid, and college applications
• We take students on College Visits
• We connect them with Mentors
• We help with clothing, bedding, backpacks and college supplies
• We offer Transportation to college
• We provide an Orientation workshop before the first day of college.
• We offer limited "last dollar" grants for expenses such as enrollment deposits, textbooks, fees, housing etc.
• We follow up with Advocacy and support for students on college campuses (i.e. financial aid, diversity issues, tutoring services, getting along with roommates, etc.)
• We offer Transportation to and from college for major holidays and semester breaks
• We also offer an On Point for Jobs program to help our first generation college students and graduates make the transition to the workforce.

OUR IMPACT

On Point for College was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in August, 1999, with one person and no funding. Ginny Donohue met with teens at street corners and community centers and working from the trunk of her car.

To date:

• Over 2,800 young people actively participate in On Point for College.
• The program has enrolled 2012 students in over 190 colleges and universities, and 275 have earned college degrees.
• 160 volunteers support the program on all levels, from mentoring to transportation to fundraising.
• Since 1999, students have received more than 1,242 "last dollar" grants, totaling $168,372, for housing and enrollment deposits, textbooks, and basic needs.
• More than 85 percent of all funds raised go directly to student services.
• For every dollar in aid awarded to its students, On Point for College leverages an additional $33 in aid from federal, state and private sources.
• In 2009, On Point for College celebrated its 10th Anniversary.   The repercussions will change the course of life for generations to come.