More Scholarships Awarded. More Students Served.

For most schools, July marks the official “turning point” away from the previous school year and toward the next. So it is for the Aim Higher Foundation as we close out our fiscal year and look forward to increasing our impact on the children, families, and schools we will serve in 2023-24. Like many organizations, we often look back before looking forward, and the closing of our financial books is an important opportunity to do that. What do we see this time around?

More scholarships awarded. More students served. Stronger schools.

If you’re new to our mission, you might not recognize the tagline there, but for those of you who have followed and supported our work over the years, you might be thinking, “Here we go again. More scholarships. More students. Stronger schools . . . we get it!”

And you’d be right. It’s the same as it ever was. And that’s exactly our intent!

Ricky Austin is the president of the Aim Higher Foundation

The “same as it ever was” for the Aim Higher Foundation is sustained, intentional growth. It’s more students in Catholic schools. It’s more families with opportunity and a hand up out of financial distress. It’s more children from this community receiving transformational educational opportunities. For the last eight years, we have increased the amount of scholarships we have awarded. If what we’re doing is the same thing we’ve always been doing, then let us be clear: We’re just getting started. We have to be!

We closed out the 2022-23 school year having received 6,600 applications for financial aid, our most ever. For the 2,152 students we were able support, the average income for first time scholarship recipients was $31,000, well below the federal free and reduced lunch program guidelines. There are more families and more children who need our help, and there are plenty of open seats in the Catholic schools we serve ready to welcome them. And so our work continues proudly and unapologetically.

As we reflect on this fiscal year, we also recognize that our same mission grew in new and life-giving ways. Here’s a quick list of this year’s highlights:

• We welcomed 450 guests to a record-breaking Night of Light.
• We brought on new team members (Camille, Christy, and Claire).
• We hosted a check-delivery marathon.
• We launched our Patrons Circle.
• We said adieu to our largest graduating class of Aim Higher Scholars.

It’s been a year to celebrate, and it’s all due to the support of donors and friends who made this year’s scholarships possible. You inspire us. We simply couldn’t do this work without you. Thank you.

For those wondering, it’s not too late to make a difference for the children and families looking for a life-changing educational experience next year. What a Catholic school can provide for any child from any background is nothing short of extraordinary. Please reach out to, consider joining our “Lattes for Learning” challenge, or make a gift today.