Jeffco Schools Foundation, CU Boulder Announce Scholarships

GOLDEN, CO—The Jeffco Schools Foundation is providing more than $430,000 in scholarships through the support of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) to increase the accessibility and affordability of obtaining a college degree at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Through generous donations from individuals and industry partners such as The Ball Foundation, CU Boulder will be able to double the impact of COSI dollars with matching scholarship funds for a combined total of more than $860,000 in student awards.

Jeffco Public Schools students will receive the scholarships and academic enrichment programming to support their success and degree completion in partnership with CU Boulder’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE).

Dayna Ashley-Oehm, chair of the Jeffco Schools Foundation Board of Directors, said, “Jeffco Schools Foundation is committed to the success of our students and recognizes that they need more than financial resources in order to succeed. The partnership with CU Boulder is a big step forward in providing Jeffco students with resources to prosper and thrive.”

A longtime proponent of college affordability and a first-generation scholar himself, CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano also lauded the partnership as a way of increasing access to postsecondary education for students, including those who may be the first in their family to attend college.

“We thank the state leaders who have made COSI possible, including Governor Polis, Executive Director Paccione, Senator Zenzinger and many of her colleagues in the legislature. We are excited to add the Jeffco Schools Foundation to our family of partners, which will help us meet the needs of aspiring Jeffco Public Schools students who might not otherwise have access to a world-class education,” DiStefano said.

Since it began in 2014, the Colorado legislature has leveraged $47 million to create a statewide network of student support and scholarship programs to boost opportunities, lower barriers to higher education and professional training programs, and provide Colorado residents with the academic and financial support they need to pursue their goals after high school graduation. COSI matches community dollars to fund institution and organization scholarship programs across the state.

“The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative is in its fifth year and is dedicated to pairing state dollars with matching investments to provide Colorado students with financial aid and campus support services to help them succeed,” said Colorado state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada, who represents Jefferson County.

“We are truly leveraging state and community dollars to ensure Colorado students can access our world-class institutions of higher education such as CU Boulder and provide them with some certainty and a path forward, even in this uncertain time,” Zenzinger said.

Colorado state Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, who has continually supported COSI through his work on the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, added, “The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship program is a great example of a state investment that has a large impact through the use of public-private partnerships. I applaud this partnership between CU Boulder and Jeffco Schools Foundation that leverages private dollars to expand access to higher education to more Colorado students."