College Possible gets $972,000 grant

College Possible Milwaukee, a nonprofit that prepares low-income students to get into and succeed in college, has received its largest gift to date, nearly $1 million, from the philanthropic arm of student loan servicer Great Lakes Higher Education Corp.

Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. & Affiliates awarded the $972,000 grant to the Milwaukee program of the Minnesota-based College Possible. The gift will be used to help more than 400 low-income Milwaukee high school students improve their ACT scores and more than 600 others already enrolled in college to get the support they need to stay in school, they said.

College Possible Executive Director Edie Turnbull called the gift critical to the nonprofit’s mission of closing the achievement and opportunity gaps among students.

“More than 90% of our students are the first in their families to go to college,” Turnbull said.

Since 2009, Great Lakes has given the local program more than $3.5 million.

“Great Lakes ... frankly, has consistently been our biggest supporter,” she said. “Obviously, we wouldn’t be where we are and wouldn’t be serving as many people as we have, if not for Great Lakes.”

College Possible Milwaukee serves about 2,800 high school students at 14 public and private schools around the city and about 1,200 college students. It employs AmeriCorp workers to offer ACT coaching and help students fill out college, financial aid and scholarship applications.