NEW YORK, NY—Hispanic Federation has received a historic $1,000,000 grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to fund the CREAR Futuros 2.0 and National Expansion Initiative. This is the largest private philanthropic contribution ever awarded to the Hispanic Federation. The grant expands and enhances CREAR (College Readiness, Access and Retention) Futuros, a nationally-recognized initiative that significantly improves retention, graduation rates, course completion, and GPA of Latino students.  

The three-year grant will expand CREAR 2.0 to three additional City University of New York (CUNY) colleges and will include technology enhancements such as portable tablets and a virtual curriculum tied to independent study, incentives such as MetroCards, credit-bearing independent study programs, and a long-term evaluation of program outcomes. It will also fund a national expansion which will extend CREAR 2.0 initiatives into Connecticut, New Jersey, and Florida. The national expansion will replicate best practices and lessons learned from CREAR 2.0. 

“In awarding this grant, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has made a powerful statement about its commitment to Latino educational success and to the Hispanic Federation. With this transformative investment, we will be able to boost the college experience for over 1,000 Latino and non-Latino students and assure long-term sustainability and replicability for this program. CREAR Futuros is about improving college success by making sure our kids get the support and mentorship they need,” said José Calderón, President of the Hispanic Federation. “Thanks to the Foundation, we get the opportunity to expand our success model of Latino college recruitment and retention to other communities across America. We take great pride in being a part of this kind of strategic philanthropy to support Latino communities.”

“The CREAR Futuros program has delivered exceptional results thus far,” said Todd Penner, Program Officer at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. “We are excited to help the Hispanic Federation to scale this success program further within New York City and beyond. CREAR Futuros aligns well with the Foundation’s College Preparation and Completion portfolio, which supports entities nationally that are increasing the number of low-income students that are ready for, enrolling in, and finishing college with a Bachelor’s degree.”