College of the Desert has received $18 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the largest one-time grant in the College’s 60+ year history. In her virtual announcement, MacKenzie Scott stated; Because community-centered service is such a powerful catalyst and multiplier, we spent the first quarter of 2021 identifying and evaluating equity-oriented non-profit teams working in areas that have been neglected. The result was $2,739,000,000 in gifts to 286 high-impact organizations in categories and communities that have been historically underfunded and overlooked. Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity, so we looked for 2- and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved. “At College of the Desert we also recognize that higher education is a pathway to opportunity, and we have made a substantial investment in our EDGE/plEDGE program to support that opportunity for our community,” said Interim Superintendent/President Jeff Baker. “This amazing donation [...]

Through the College of the Desert Foundation, the College is able to provide students the opportunity to succeed and better prepare themselves academically through programs like EDGE and plEDGE. EDGE offers hands-on assistance in areas such as financial aid, enrollment, student success workshops and much more. In addition, EDGE offers a series of informational workshops that showcase the College’s academic and student support programs that are free and open to current, new or incoming students. The plEDGE program provides two full years of FREE tuition and fees to recent local high school graduates. If you would like to contribute to student success at College of the Desert, please consider donating to the EDGE and plEDGE programs by visiting www.codfoundation.org. #CODFoundation #CollegeoftheDesert #CreateTomorrow #StudentSuccess #EDGE #plEDGE