I never set out to start a nonprofit when I wrote and published my memoir First Gen in 2023. Back then, motivated by conversations I was having with thousands of first gen students across the country, I simply wanted to do something – anything - to help address the crippling financial burden these young people were facing.

And I wanted to do it fast. No red tape, no GPA threshold, no citizenship requirement - just direct support to students who needed it. I announced that I was self-funding ten hardship grants of $1000, unsure if anyone would apply. But you did. Thousands of you.  

I heard from hardworking students who didn’t have enough money to eat three meals a day. To fly home to visit their families during the holidays. And from others who couldn’t afford transportation to and from school. Who might have to drop out of college because of a $500 tuition gap. As someone who had taken out loans into the six figures in order to attend USC and Harvard, it broke my heart to only be able to award ten grants.

That’s why I created the First Gen Fund.

There is higher ed policy that must change and exorbitant tuition costs that must be reined in. And in the meantime, our first gen students can’t wait. They need our help right now.

To those who wish to support the first gen community by funding additional hardship grants, please visit our donation page to contribute to the Fund.

And to our tribe of trailblazers, we have your back. Keep going.

Warmly,