
Community
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Rainier Scholars – Community Reinvestment Project Spotlight
Rainier Scholars is one 30 By/For Black, Latine, and Indigenous Kin organizations in Pierce County recommended by the Pierce County Local Advisory Team to receive funding through the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Project.
GTCF contracted with Commerce to convene the Pierce County Local Advisory Team and deliver funding based on their recommendations. You can read more about this partnership here.
GTCF reached out to Olivia Littles, Grants Manager, Rainier Scholars, to learn more about their organization and how this Community Reinvestment Project funding is helping accelerate their work in Pierce County.
What inspired the creation of your organization/movement?
Inspired by A Hope in the Unseen and modeled after the Prep for Prep program in New York City, Rainier Scholars was founded by Bob Hurlbut in 2000 on the belief that all students deserve an equal opportunity to excel academically and become thriving community and workplace leaders.
Through holistic, long-term support that provides academic, mental health, and career development within a community structure, Rainier Scholars has been able to provide our students with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. Our growing community of over 30 alumni have gone on to pursue professions a broad array of career fields including medicine, education, science and biotechnology, architecture, art and design, government, social services, engineering, law, computer science, and more.
What is a challenge – or opportunity – your organization/movement is addressing or trying to create solutions for?
Rainier Scholars supports students most underrepresented on college campuses who have the greatest number of barriers to achieving a college degree. The majority of our program participants are from families who qualify as low-income. The majority of our program participants are from households without a four-year college degree.
Factors such as disparities in public school funding, disproportionate disciplinary policies, and family circumstances create an inequitable learning environment for many students around the country. In addition to systemic barriers throughout the K-12 system, the June 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting race in college admission decisions and recent Executive Orders from the current administration have created more roadblocks to college access for students of color striving for a postsecondary education.
The complexity of these combined barriers will continue to create roadblocks to college access unless interventions are put in place to keep the doors of opportunity open. Education is not only a pathway to personal growth—it is a critical engine for economic mobility and a cornerstone of a thriving, equitable society. A less educated population means fewer individuals qualifying for high-paying, in-demand jobs, widening income gaps, and limiting economic mobility. The long-term impact is a diminished workforce, slower economic growth, and fewer opportunities for families to break cycles of poverty.
What is an example of the actions, programs, or projects of your organization/movement?
Rainier Scholars provides early academic enrichment, leadership and career development, college advising, and mental health support from fifth grade through college graduation. We help underrepresented students on the pathway to college navigate barriers, access transformative opportunities, and build a network of support to bolster scholar success throughout their educational journey and beyond.
One of our key goals in Tacoma was building out our third year of summer school programming for rising 7th grade students in our first cohort. Mini College was developed with three key goals in mind: provide academic enrichment to prepare students for the school year, encourage career exploration, and expose students to life in a university environment. Classes took place at the University of Washington Tacoma, and Rainier Scholars staff worked with local professionals and community volunteers to lead classes, activities, and field trips.
The goal of the course was to design and build digital clocks. Students worked with circuit boards, professional-grade Onshape CAD software, and 3D printers to successfully create their individual projects. They also learned that having fun and embracing the entertaining side of engineering is essential.
How can funding – like what was delivered through the Community Reinvestment Project – help accelerate the work of Rainier Scholars?
Rainier Scholars – Tacoma is still in its growth phase, and funding from the Community Reinvestment Project and other donors is critical to our success.
With consistent funding from donors, foundations, and other organizations, it will allow us to expand our impact and serve more students in our region, while continuing to provide wraparound services to our existing scholars. This type of work increases the number of diverse students graduating from colleges, drives participation of people of color at all levels of leadership and influence in the workforce, and supports the growing number of families of color advocating for quality education and thriving communities. A college education can change a life trajectory, and when scholars and families are successful, entire communities are uplifted.