History

Scholarship America established Dreamkeepers in partnership with Lumina Foundation for Education in 2004. Funding from Lumina Foundation for Education resulted in the program being implemented in 11 community colleges throughout the United States in 2005. In 2008, the Walmart Foundation expanded the Dreamkeepers program to six additional community colleges and one four-year university.

In 2009, the Kresge Foundation joined Lumina Foundation for Education and the Walmart Foundation to provide additional funding to expand the program to 13 additional community colleges (open enrollment colleges) and one inner city college. This joint grant also enabled significant program enhancements for existing Dreamkeepers colleges.

Dreamkeepers has come a long way since 2005. It has grown into a national retention and capacity building program for participating colleges. Moreover, since 2006, participating colleges have seen outstanding results in the areas of student success and persistence. As the program continues to grow, more colleges and students will be better able to achieve their stated academic and education-related success goals.

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"We're proud to support a program that's helping keep students in school and working toward their educational goals. The unique grant partnership between Kresge, Lumina and Walmart is a model for ways that foundations can work together to streamline the grant process and provide broader support. We're proud to be part of this collaborative solution."

Margaret McKenna
President
Walmart Foundation