Supporting Metro Atlanta Students: Scholarships, College Completion, & Student Loan Debt Relief

Though school is out and summer break is in full swing, we’re headed back to class to shine a spotlight on the Community Foundation’s role in metro Atlanta’s education ecosystem—as a funder, founder, convener, and partner to exceptional nonprofits creating change and making bright futures possible.

In this month’s feature, we’re highlighting our work in scholarships, student debt relief, and our partnership with Achieve Atlanta.

Our Initiatives: Affordability and Access for Students and Graduates

Scholarships are an essential part of our commitment to advancing equity and shared prosperity throughout our region. In 2025 alone, more than $13.4 million in scholarships were awarded to 2,906 students, helping make a life-changing college education more affordable and accessible.

For our donors, we function as a collaborative partner in managing existing scholarship funds and creating new ones, offering advice and guidance on the populations that most need scholarship support and the pathways for donors to offer that support.

The Community Foundation is also mindful that, for many community members—particularly those whose families earn low incomes, are first-generation college students, or are students of color—the benefits of postsecondary education are reduced by high student loan burdens. These burdens can make it more difficult to save money, buy homes, start businesses, pursue additional education, or otherwise build wealth.

That’s why in 2023 we launched the Student Loan Debt Payment Program to help tackle the student loan debt crisis in our region. To date, we have erased $868,797.85 in student loan debt for 31 residents, each of whom received an average repayment of more than $28,000—helping them to build the futures they’ve dreamed of. By the end of 2026, we are on track to eliminate student loan debt for a total of 40 metro Atlanta residents.

Both scholarships and the debt payment program allow donors to affect the lives of local students and graduates positively and directly. If you’d like to be more involved in this work, please reach out to our Philanthropy team at philanthropy@cfgreateratlanta.org to start a conversation.

Achieve Atlanta: Supporting Students Through College Completion

Achieving lasting difference in the region takes a strong network of partners. In addition to these Foundation-led initiatives, in 2014 we partnered with the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation to commission a study on post-secondary outcomes for Atlanta students. The results were striking: only 1 in 7 Atlanta students entering ninth grade was projected to earn a postsecondary degree of any kind within six years of high school graduation.

With these findings in mind, the following year the Whitehead Foundation provided the financial investment to help create a new organization, Achieve Atlanta, focused on increasing the number of Atlanta students earning a postsecondary credential. Over the last decade, Achieve Atlanta has remained a close partner of the Community Foundation, leveraging our internal operations to do their work effectively and efficiently. The Community Foundation can serve as an incubator for critical community organizations like Achieve Atlanta through this kind of operational support.

Today, Achieve Atlanta supports students along their full college journey, combining:

• College access: In partnership with Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools, Achieve Atlanta and college advising partners deliver hands-on help to students as they chart their paths to college.
• College affordability: The Achieve Atlanta Scholarship is a need-based award designed to support students pursuing a postsecondary education after high school. This award can be used at most 4-year, 2-year, and technical colleges and universities in Georgia and across the country.
• College success: Achieve Atlanta partners with post-secondary institutions and nonprofit organizations to offer direct support, coaching, advising, and additional services to help students remain enrolled and earn their degrees.
• Career support: Achieve Atlanta is now exploring opportunities to extend career-related support to its alumni during the critical post-graduation transition period—all with the goal of providing continued guidance and resources for graduates to successfully launch their careers.

Since its founding, the results are significant:

• More than 7,000 local students are considered Achieve Atlanta Scholars—and more than 1/3 of APS seniors become Scholars.
• Scholars have attended 409 postsecondary institutions around the country.
• Achieve Atlanta has provided these Scholars with more than $65 million in scholarship funds.
• Since the first cohort entered college 10 years ago, 2,304 Achieve Atlanta Scholars have earned a postsecondary credential.
• For more results, explore Achieve’s 2025 impact report. Stay tuned for the results of its 10-year impact survey, which will be published later this year. 

By focusing not just on college access, but also on college completion, Achieve Atlanta ensures that students don’t just enroll—they graduate, ready to pursue meaningful careers and contribute to their communities.

Said one Scholar who attends Berry College:

“Achieve Atlanta didn’t just support me financially, it helped me transition into college life with confidence. As a first-gen student and daughter of immigrant parents, I often felt like I was navigating everything on my own. This program gave me the guidance, resources, and sense of belonging I needed to succeed. I’m incredibly grateful to be part of such a supportive community!”

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Next month, we’ll share how the Community Foundation partners with other local nonprofits to strengthen the region’s K-12 education system, ensuring positive student outcomes across the cradle to career continuum.