Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing supplemental educational and career support to young people from underserved communities. SEO has been the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including five four-star ratings by Charity Navigator, the College Board’s 2011 CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Awards, and selection as one of the top-performing non-profits in the country by Social Impact Exchange’s new giving platform, S&I 100. Henry Kravis was named chairman of the organization in 2014.
Contents
History
Founded in 1963 by Michael Osheowitz with a mission to provide talented and motivated young people from underserved and underrepresented communities with access to superior educational and career opportunities. SEO was one of the first mentoring and college preparatory programs for these communities in New York.
The current program model was implemented in September 2006.
In 2014 Henry Kravis was named chairman of the organization.
In April 2015 SEO raised over $3.5 million at its annual awards dinner.
Programs
Today, SEO is made up of three distinct programs: SEO Scholars, SEO Career, and SEO Alternative Investments.
SEO Scholars
SEO Scholars is an eight-year program focused on getting low-income public high school students to and through college. In high school the program provides 720 additional hours of academic instruction. The support continues in college, with staff tracking students’ attendance and grades, as well as provide students with ongoing one-on-one academic and financial advising, personal support, and career guidance.
100% of program participants are accepted to four-year colleges, with 80% graduating college in four years, and 95% graduating in six years.
SEO career
SEO Career is a summer internship and training program for underrepresented college students that places them at coveted internships in banking, private equity, corporate leadership, and law. Interns in the program receive 100 hours of training customized to their specific internship type before their first day on the job, 40 online and 60 in person. Over 75% of past SEO interns received offers to return full-time.
SEO Alternative Investments
SEO Alternative Investments is an initiative that provides education, exposure, training and mentoring to talented professionals traditionally underrepresented in the alternative investments sector. This program is designed to provide professionals of color with a pathway to opportunities in private equity and hedge funds, with the aim of increasing their presence in the field.
The SEO Alternative Investments Fellowship Program (AIFP) is a highly selective initiative that provides 8-10 top first- and second-year investment banking analysts with rigorous technical training as well as exposure to, and mentorship from, AIFP's partner organizations. Corporate sponsors include CVC Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, KKR, Palladium Equity Partners, TPG and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (as of September 2016).