10,000 Degrees

“We have thousands of students, and they’re the future of the community.”—Kim Mazzuca, president and CEO, 10,000 Degrees

Getting into college can be a daunting process for anyone, but it’s especially challenging for young adults who live in low-income communities where it’s mostly an impossible dream. “When there’s no legacy in the family, navigating this journey is intimidating,” says Kim Mazzuca, president and chief executive officer.

The mission for this nonprofit is to help students from low-income backgrounds get into college so they can make a positive impact in their communities and the world. Based in San Rafael, it serves 44 area high schools, 34 community colleges and more than 50 four-year colleges and universities in the North Bay and across the nation.

Founded in 1981, the nonprofit, then known as the Marin Education Fund, began as a scholarship-only organization. In 2000, it made a transformative shift to supporting students and families that needed them most. Then in 2010, it committed to help 10,000 students from low-income backgrounds get to—and through—college in every community it served, and this goal was the inspiration behind changing its name to 10,000 Degrees. Since then, the nonprofit has helped more than 25,000 students and their families gain access to higher education.

Today, 10,000 Degrees serves seven Bay Area counties with a deep and broad reach in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties, and 85 percent of its students are the first in their families to attend college. “We shepherd them all the way through,” says Mazzuca, who’s worked there for 20 years. Unlike other college programs, there is no GPA requirement. What’s more, financial aid management is a major part of their program. Students receive $16,000 to $17,000 in free aid each year, and graduate with 80 percent less loan debt than the average U.S. student.

Meanwhile, the program at 10,000 Degrees continues to evolve. Last year, the nonprofit established an internship program known as Career Connections. “We like to see our students return to their communities. We’re developing a workforce development program. We hope to have 80 paid internships with 80 businesses and corporations,” says Mazzuca. “We have thousands of students, and they’re the future of the community.”

Alumni from the program are more likely to vote, more likely to volunteer and more likely to earn more than $1 million during their lifetimes. One alumnus is the former mayor of Novato, another is a principal at Laurel Dell Elementary School in San Rafael, and yet another is working at the state capitol in the governor’s office for the department of education. What’s more, 10,000 Degrees is an organization that walks the talk. The organization has 60 people on staff, the majority of whom are alumni.

As for the future, 10,000 Degrees is committed to creating better communities by breaking the cycle of poverty and nurturing more civic-minded people. Says Mazzuca, “We want to be a promising solution to increase their success rate, and we want businesses and corporations to see our students as the future.”

www.10000degrees.org