For Supporters

“Supporting our young people in getting to college makes sense for us as a company. We think about where we as a company are going to get our future employees, and how we are going to make a local impact. It’s good for the community, and it's great for us.”
- Julie Mork, Managing Director, ECA Foundation

“There are other college access programs, but none as comprehensive as College Summit. One may focus on financial aid, while another may focus on college selection. College Summit focuses on every aspect of college enrollment in a step-by-step curriculum with on-line tracking and management tools. As a principal, I was able to follow the progress of every student. College Summit brings innovation and accountability to college access, ensuring that every student is provided structured support and encouragement to enroll in college, regardless of socioeconomic background.”
- Roger Smith, Former Principal, Big Creek High School, McDowell County

“I have seen many organizations who have an impressive and worthwhile mission but fail to achieve that mission in practice. Based upon what I saw at the workshop at Marshall University, such is not the case with College Summit…I am confident that our community, our state and even our nation will reap the benefits of College Summit’s work in the future. We will have more educated people, a stronger work force and less poverty. I look forward to that future.”
- Scott H. Kaminski, Flaherty, Sensabaugh and Bonasso, P.L.L.C.

List of Supporters

College Summit West Virginia is grateful to the following corporations and foundations, as well as the local and state public funders, who support our work in West Virginia.

$50,000 and above

$25,000 - $49,999

$10,000 – 24,999

$9,999 and under
  • American Electric Power
  • Bernard H. & Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation
  • Carter Family Foundation 
  • Charleston Area Alliance
  • Columbia Gas Transmission
  • The Daywood Foundation, Inc
  • Dow Chemical Company
  • Enterprise Rent-A-Car
  • Fifth Third Foundation
  • The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation
  • Mr. L. Newton Thomas, Jr.
  • Mr. Lloyd Jackson 
  • NGK Spark Plugs
  • Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation
  • Rudd Equipment
  • Toyota WV
  • United Bank
  • Wal-Mart (Martinsburg, Nitro, and Southridge)
  • Woodcraft Supply, LLC
  • Wright Family Fund

Supporter Spotlights

 

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is an independent foundation established in 1944 by Michael and Sarah Benedum, with grantmaking focused in West Virginia and Pittsburgh.  The Benedum Foundation and College Summit share the focus of “helping people help themselves.”  Both entities recognize that measurable and sustainable progress will stem from empowering people to develop their own capacity – the precise reason for College Summit’s existence.

 

 

ECA Foundation
The ECA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Energy Corporation of America, is a private corporate foundation with a focus on youth and education.  College Summit-West Virginia has a particularly notable history with ECA, as it was this company that invited College Summit to introduce its college access model to West Virginia in 2001, and has since been the organization’s top corporate champion.

 

  

Kanawha County Schools
Kanawha County Schools has been a longtime partner of College Summit; indeed, the College Summit program was introduced to West Virginia via Kanawha County.  The County’s investment in College Summit is proof of its strides toward ensuring life success among its youth.  The outcomes are undeniably positive: Kanawha County Schools achieved ACT and SAT scores above both national and state averages – an indicator of college readiness and preparation among its youth.  Moreover, 13 Kanawha County Schools were recently honored by the U.S. Department of Education for academic excellence and making significant gains in student achievement

 

 

Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation assists people in the Southeastern United States to build just and caring communities that nurture people, spur enterprise, bridge differences, and foster fairness.  The Foundation’s mission is to help people and places move out of poverty and achieve greater social and economic justice.  In 2006, the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation invested in College Summit with an innovative grant to support College Summit’s work in West Virginia and to help it transfer “best practices” to launch a successful College Summit-South Carolina program.

 

 

Allstate Foundation
Founded in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent charitable organization funded by contributions from subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation.  The Foundation invests millions of dollars annually in U.S. programs aligned with three focus areas:  creating safe and vital communities; fostering economic empowerment; and enhancing tolerance, inclusion, and diversity.  We are pleased to have been recognized by the Allstate Foundation, a three year funder of College Summit, as an organization fulfilling this purpose.

 

 

Dominion Foundation
Each year, Dominion contributes more than $10 million to nonprofit organizations improving the quality of life in communities in which the company provides electricity or natural gas service.  Dominion maintains a substantial and diverse commitment to education with the recognition that high-quality education opportunities for youth are the key component of economic growth.  College Summit-West Virginia has received support from the Dominion Foundation for two years.

 

 

Equitable Resources Foundation
Equitable Resources Foundation provides financial and volunteer support to numerous agencies and nonprofit organizations; educational initiatives targeted to students in underserved or disadvantaged areas are one of the Foundation’s primary areas of focus in the allocation of funds.  College Summit-West Virginia is pleased to be partnering with Equitable Resources Foundation for the first time in 2006.

 

 

Maier Foundation, Inc.
One of the largest philanthropic organizations in the Kanawha Valley, the primary focus of the Maier Foundation is on the furtherance of higher education in West Virginia and the higher education of West Virginia residents attending colleges and universities elsewhere.  The Foundation was founded by William J. Maier, Jr., who was born into modest means in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and who was reminded consistently of the value of an education.  Attending college with the help of financial aid and following his mother's advice to “do good with all the money you can spare” led Mr. Maier to establish this foundation in 1958.  His son, Ed Maier, a member of College Summit-West Virginia’s Board, is now President of the Maier Foundation.

 

 

Verizon
The Verizon Foundation has supported College Summit’s work in both West Virginia and South Carolina, both largely rural states which can benefit tremendously from the Verizon Foundation’s dual focus on improving literacy skills – something with an enormous impact on education, health and economic development – and on enhancing technology and communications.