What We Do:

The Pegasus Fund is the only non-profit organization in the United States focused primarily on addressing the non-academic challenges that many underprivileged students face when they enter a private secondary school. Our goal is to provide a ramp for students so that they hit the ground running the very first day of high school, undaunted and unencumbered by the new social and geographic environments they encounter.

How We Do It:

To maximize resources and results, The Pegasus Fund eliminates overhead, bureaucracy, and waste by partnering with established, successful institutions. Working with school administrators and faculty in under-served communities, we identify top-performing students graduating from the fifth grade -- students that have already expressed interest in a private secondary school -- and commit to sending them to a summer camp for three consecutive summers. During the academic year, The Pegasus Fund also helps students address scholastic and personal challenges as they arise, supporting them through the secondary school application process.

Why We Do It:

The Fund has proven that this coordinated summer experience pays dividends larger than the price of its tuition. We equip the most promising students in the country with the self-confidence and self-reliance required to excel right out of the gate on their very first day of high school. Students lacking this skill-set are less able to transition fluidly to secondary school life, diminishing their longer-term chances of success. We suggest that the non-academic, rural, and holistic experience Pegasus Fund scholars seize is the key to a fully realized four years of secondary school; and, that their participation will have far reaching consequences. Empirical evidence and discussions with numerous educators suggests that:

1. Targeting the most talented and driven students will maximize our rate of success;

and

2. Providing incremental support to a student that already has the commitment of venerable institutions will magnify our impact on the individual and on society as a whole.

We believe we can accomplish the most for our students -- using the very least from our supporters -- simply by uniting effective institutions. In turn, we hope these students will go on to succeed personally, professionally, and philanthropically, fortifying the very same programs, schools, and organizations that helped nurture their growth.

Who We Are:

The Pegasus Fund began as an effort by a small, dedicated band of Thacher School alumni, passionate about focusing and directly managing resources (practical, financial, and spiritual) to accomplish a single, quantifiable goal. In that mission, we have attracted supporters of and from KIPP, The Four Winds/Westward Ho Camp, and The Thacher School. Since The Fund's inception in 2006, the initial group has expanded in both number and diversity, gaining champions across the country who are employed in numerous fields, all bound by a commitment to education, leadership, compassion, and effectiveness.