Success Story: Promise Programs

The Greenwood Promise is a place-based, last-dollar scholarship program changing the trajectory of an entire community. And it's a powerful example of how chambers of commerce and economic development organizations (EDOs) can help reshape that future.

 Goal: 

To build a community where every high school graduate is guaranteed the opportunity to attend college tuition-free. Now, think about how that promise can create new student opportunities while enhancing the entire local economy. This scenario isn't a hypothetical. It's happening right now in Greenwood County, South Carolina.

 The Challenges: 

• Starting a scholarship fund from scratch
• Securing a level of investment to drive quick results
• Funding a local-focus initiative with significant financial need in a small community

 The Convergent Approach: 

• Leveraging the Investment Driven Model for fundraising, Convergent developed an outcome-focused case for support providing prospective funders with a clear understanding of both the urgency for the Promise and the  impact it would deliver
• Cross sector funder engagement was critical. From major employers to public sector to family foundations, the Promise vision had appeal community wide. Convergent worked to adapt messaging to engage various funder audiences.
• Convergent implemented 2 feasibility studies, and 2 campaigns for the Promise (5 years apart) to validate funding and secure necessary pledges to achieve the Promise’s goals.

 The Results: 

• More than $9M raised across 2 campaigns.