October 14, 2022

supporting scholars

Fulcrum was founded on four values: Independence, Excellence, Integrity and Community. It is that fourth value, Community, that inspires us to do what we can to make the world a better place. As experts in the investment management business, we identify and invest in thriving, for-profit companies with creative solutions to the world’s problems. We also believe in the power of non-profit organizations to create change. Since Fulcrum’s inception, we have invested ten percent of firm profits back into the community each year, supporting dozens of local nonprofits in this important work.

 

The pandemic created many challenges and many opportunities for change. Educational equity was severely impacted as national college enrollments dropped by 10% with the greatest decreases seen in students from low-income families. College Success Foundation, based in Bellevue, WA, is uniquely situated to address this issue. Their mission is to provide an integrated system of scholarships, guidance, and mentorship to inspire underserved, low-income students to finish high school, graduate from college, and succeed in life. Their formula has proven successful; as of 2021 more than 11,600 CSF Scholars have graduated from college.

 

We are excited to announce that we have recently made a contribution to the College Success Foundation (CSF)’s Leadership 1000 Scholarship program. The scholarship is available to students attending a Washington state college or university. In addition to up to $5,000/year in aid, recipients receive career and financial aid guidance as well as networking opportunities with other scholarship recipients and donors. We are honored to help provide a local student with the opportunity to study for and build a career, and we hope they will be inspired to change the world.

The College Success Foundation’s values of Collaboration, Equity and Inclusion, and Continuous Learning align with our firms’. 83% of CSF’s scholarship recipients are students of color, 86% are from low-income families, and 81% are the first to go to college in their family. Supporting these students should, in the long run, provide a pipeline of diverse talent for all industries. Selfishly, we hope that at least a few of these students will be inspired to join our industry. As a majority women-owned and women-led firm, we are unusual in our industry and have benefited from being different from other firms. We believe that more diversity of thought will strengthen our team and increase our success. Encouraging and heeding different viewpoints will help us develop the best ideas for investment management, portfolio construction, and wealth enhancement in the future. Over time, we hope to see our industry as a whole embrace and work towards increased diversity.

 

We encourage you to check out CSF and read some of their inspiring success stories.

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