The Goldman Sachs Foundation announced a $475,000 award to the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP) on Oct. 4. The grant will go toward furthering PUPP's mission of providing greater academic opportunities to underrepresented youth.
The foundation, a philanthropic organization funded by the investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs, granted a total of $4.4 million to programs in the United States, Ireland, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
"The Goldman Sachs Foundation was designed to identify high-achieving students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds and prepare [them] for admission to and success in competitive schools," Foundation officer Christopher Williams said.
"Princeton is one of several schools with an existing program," he said.
The University of Chicago, Trinity College and Harvard, all of which have programs similar to PUPP, were also among the seven colleges to receive a grant.
In addition to programs focusing on student enrichment, which received a total of $2.3 million, the foundation awarded the rest of the grant money to programs that improve teaching and leadership quality in U.S. public schools.
The Preparatory Program was founded in the summer of 2000 by sociology professor Miguel Centeno and John Webb, the director of the Program in Teacher Preparation, with the goal of aiding youth with high potential who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage.
"We sent a proposal to the foundation expressing this connection between their funding priorities and our program," Jason Klugman, coordinator of PUPP and program administrator of the Program in Teacher Preparation, said.
"We were very fortunate that the Foundation was in the process of reviewing some new programs to fund in this area," he added.
In addition to their University funding, PUPP's past supporters include Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and private donors, including William Birch, Jr., '64.
PUPP will use $200,000 of the Foundation's grant for general operations, chiefly its three-year academic and cultural enrichment program for New Jersey high school students.
The program selects 20 to 25 high school sophomores annually from the Princeton, Trenton and Ewing high school districts based on maximum income requirements, academic success and display of potential.
In addition to weekly sessions throughout the school year featuring SAT classes, cultural events, academic tutoring and mentorship, PUPP hosts a six-week summer academic institute at the University.
Another $200,000 will be funneled into the National Conference for Programs Aimed at Developing High Potential Youth from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, to be hosted at the University at a future date, whose goal is to unite advocates and leaders of programs like PUPP.
One of the conference's subprojects, headed by co-founder Centeno, will be the compilation of a "how-to manual" for other institutions to encourage the development of support and achievement programs similar to PUPP.
The remaining $75,000 will pay for an outside service to evaluate the progress of PUPP programs over the course of three years.
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