Edu-Futuro (Educacion Para Nuestro Futuro Founded By Escuela Bolivia)

EIN: 54-1914671

Mission Statement

The mission of Edu-Futuro is to empower immigrant and underserved youth and families through mentorship, education, leadership development, parent engagement, and workforce development.

Program Summary

Edu-Futuro’s work is focused on breaking the cycle of poverty through education: providing immigrant youth and their families with Two-Generation programming designed to help young people become first-generation college students, while equipping their parents with the tools to navigate the educational system, bolster family communication, and obtain stable, family-sustaining employment. Our major programs include:

1)    The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) provides over 1,000 immigrant and Latino students in grades 5-12 with a series of interconnected services designed to help them acquire the educational and professional skills that will lead to high school graduation and postsecondary education. Our flagship program for youth is ELP-II, in which students are matched with mentors for a full year, and receive guidance through the college enrollment, scholarship, and financial aid application processes.

2)    Parent Empowerment Services (PES) offer workshops and individualized case management that empowers parents to become more involved in the education of their children, helps to improve financial stability, and strengthens family cohesion.

3)    Workforce Development Services (WDS) include “Tech for Parents,” a computer literacy program that provides training in such areas as computer and smartphone hardware, internet/email usage, and Google Drive/Translate; and one-on-one employment counseling for beneficiaries requiring individualized support.

Impact Summary

During the pandemic, the public health and economic impact on the immigrant and Latino families served by Edu-Futuro has been so severe that we have broken our service delivery record for three years in a row, culminating in FY2022-2023, when we provided 5,011 services to more than 2,000 different families. Our most significant organizational accomplishments since 2021 include the following:

In response to the coronavirus crisis, Edu-Futuro mobilized to become one of the largest providers of direct financial aid to Latino and immigrant families in the Washington region: stabilizing more than 1,500 households, and disbursing over $2.3 million for rent, food, and other basic necessities.
Due to a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism among Latino and English Learners, Edu-Futuro partnered with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in 2021 to create an Outreach Team tasked with returning students back to the classroom. Of the 376 student referrals provided by FCPS during the past two years, Edu-Futuro has been able to bring 248 youth back to school.
Since 2021, the 175 high school seniors who graduated from our flagship ELP-II program were collectively offered more than $33 million in scholarships and financial aid for their four-year college education.

What ways can the public get involved?

Edu-Futuro offers both one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities through our Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). We provide three different opportunities for one-time volunteers: 1. Career Panelists volunteer for one evening at the ELP-I career exploration workshop to speak to students about their career path. 2. Scholarship Committee Members volunteer for one weekend day and one evening to determine the winners of the ELP Scholarships. Volunteers review all student scholarship applications and select the winners. 3. Speech Competition Judges volunteer for one evening to listen to and score our student Speech Competition, working to reach consensus on which students gave the most compelling and passionate speeches.

Persons interested in ongoing volunteer opportunities may also apply to be an ELP-I mentor, who commits to attending one weekly workshop of ELP-I to help guide and support a “Crew” of 5-8 student leaders. At each workshop, mentors provide individualized attention to their Crew in order to best prepare each student leader to for their future after high school. Mentors also accompany their Crew on a university visit, assist them as they apply for the ELP scholarship, and advise them as they develop action plans for personal success.

How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?

As described above, generous donations made to Edu-Futuro are used to serve more than 2,000 immigrant and Latino families in Northern Virginia. The true impact of our work, however, can best be demonstrated by how we change the lives of our beneficiaries. Rai Rocca is a participant of Edu-Futuro’s Emerging Leaders Program, who graduated from Robinson Secondary School, and attended William & Mary.

 “I am an Edu-Futuro alum, and I would like to share my story. Edu-Futuro took me in when I was in 8^th grade, and they have honestly been with me since that day…Edu-Futuro set me up with my first two internships, helped me to write my first resume, and prepare my college applications. I did not know a thing about William & Mary, the college that I would never have attended if it wasn’t for Edu-Futuro…Edu-Futuro has changed how immigrant students see themselves, our self-esteem. Their supporters champion the inherent value of education, and of ourselves as students. They believe that it is good to invest in our youth and in our communities so that we may grow — that every student is not only capable, but deserving of higher education. Thank you Edu-Futuro!”

Information provided March 2024