Introducing the George Jackson Initiative
Fordham Prep is proud to announce the George Jackson Initiative ( GJI ) to advance our commitment to the values of dignity , belonging and justice . GJI has two components : First , it is an endowed scholarship to support Black students with demonstrated financial need of tuition assistance . Second , it establishes a new mentoring program to serve first generation college-bound students from all backgrounds .
Over a 12 month period , generous donors committed $ 1.4 million to this effort . While much of this support has been directed as endowment gifts , other donors have made “ current use ” donations .
With this announcement , we are pleased to invite prospective donors to consider additional gifts in support of GJI .
Background of GJI
GJI aligns closely with the mission of Fordham Prep and the purpose and history of the Prep ’ s endowment . The Initiative has successfully attracted remarkable grassroots support in a short period of time .
The Prep ’ s diverse student enrollment is one of its most valuable assets . Attracting qualified young men to the Rose Hill campus regardless of their families ’ ability to afford the Prep ’ s tuition is at the heart of our Catholic Jesuit mission . These outcomes don ’ t happen by accident . They are credited directly to the generosity of donors to the Prep ’ s endowment . In fact , the endowment provides the single most important sustainable resource supporting the Prep ’ s socio-economic diversity .
Each year , most of the investment revenue drawn from the Prep ’ s $ 52 million endowment funds tuition assistance for hundreds of families from modest means regardless of their background , race or ethnicity . The list of need-based scholarship beneficiaries — which includes Black and Hispanic students and first generation immigrants from Europe , Asia , Latin America and Africa — is as diverse as the New York City metropolitan area . Without this support , these families could not afford a Fordham Prep education .
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Respecting donors ’ intentions , some scholarships within the endowment direct financial aid to young men from specific backgrounds , as long as they demonstrate need . Over the years , donors have established scholarships to support the sons of single mothers and those of NYPD and FDNY officers . Others designate their scholarships to benefit young men of Irish or Italian ancestry , graduates of the REACH Program , or to young men who live in the Bronx or Yonkers . Still other scholarships direct tuition assistance to middle income students from Westchester County or from a multitude of individually named parishes and parochial grammar schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York .
Until recently Fordham Prep ’ s endowment included no scholarship that specifically supported Black students with demonstrated financial need . Last summer , this oversight was rectified . In response to the societal reckoning on racial justice stirring throughout our country , Mr . Tim Brosnan ’ 76 P ’ 12 approached Father Devron with the idea to establish a new scholarship to support Black students from families of limited financial resources .
At the same time , other donors across multiple generations and diverse backgrounds , including Black alumni and parents and current and past members of the school ’ s Board of Trustees , reached out with similar requests : Would Fordham Prep expand its commitment to include more Black students in need of tuition assistance ? Would we accept donations to make this happen ? And would we agree to develop a mentoring program for firstgeneration students of all backgrounds ?
About George Jackson ’ 76
The answer was not only a resounding and grateful “ yes ,” but also that we knew the perfect candidate for whom to name this new initiative .
Thus was born the George Jackson Initiative , honoring the cherished memory of George Jackson ’ 76 ( RIP ). George was Tim Brosnan ’ s classmate and lifelong friend ; the former President of Motown Records ; a past Fordham Prep Trustee and Hall of Honor inductee ; and namesake of the George Jackson Academy .
Jackson grew up in Harlem and attended Bishop Kelley Junior High , where he met his future Prep classmate Brosnan , with whom he forged an extraordinary bond . While the two went their separate ways after high school-- Jackson to Harvard and Brosnan to Georgetown-- the friendship created in junior high and reinforced on Rose Hill never wavered . George Jackson passed away in 2000 after a severe stroke .