Our Mission
The Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF) eliminates barriers to post-secondary education for historically underrepresented low-income Black and Latinx students of exceptional academic merit attending community colleges.
Our History
The Kaplan Educational Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity initially established and supported by a generous endowment funded by Kaplan, Inc. executives with the idea of helping a small group of students in a big way. Kaplan, Inc. and its employees continue to provide financial, in-kind, and volunteer support to KEF and our Kaplan Scholars. Since 2006, we have provided comprehensive support to 15 Cohorts of 129 Scholars through the Kaplan Leadership Program. Our students have attended competitive colleges and universities, graduated with honors, earned degrees from highly selective graduate schools, and landed notable positions in their fields. Kaplan Scholars have attended elite schools, including Yale, Stanford, Brown, Wellesley, and Smith. Program graduates have secured post-graduation employment with Fortune 500 companies and multinational corporations, such as Colgate Palmolive, Ernst & Young, Google, Deloitte, and JP Morgan & Chase. They also hold leadership roles in education, public service, and the nonprofit sector.
Our Vision
The Kaplan Educational Foundation envisions a world where a college education is universally attainable, and where our society’s Leadership reflects the full diversity of our communities. By investing in deserving and diverse students from low-income communities and providing them with the opportunity to receive a college education, we are creating tomorrow’s Leaders who will continue breaking down barriers and lifting up the residents of their communities.