The Posse Foundation is a left-of-center advocacy organization that recruits and prepares students from racial minority backgrounds to attend elite universities. The program then sends a “posse” of ten students to a selected university as a group, paying their tuitions. ¹

The Posse Foundation has faced criticism in the past for helping students who otherwise would not have been admitted to elite universities to gain admission, resulting in poor academic performance once they arrive on campus. Several universities have terminated their relationships with the Posse Foundation due to the poor academic performance of students admitted through the Posse program. ^{2 3}

Finances

In 2018, the Posse Foundation received $19,407,533 in contributions and an additional $2,670,403 in investment income. ⁴ The organization also reported $80,020,742 in net assets. ⁵

In 2018, the Posse Foundation received contributions from several left-of-center grantmaking foundations, including the Arnhold Foundation, ⁶ the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Foundation,⁷ and the Boyd and Evelyn Mullen Charitable Foundation. ⁸ The Posse foundation also accepted donations from several corporate charities, such as the American Honda Foundation and the Bain Capital Children’s Charity. ^{9 10}  Several left-of-center community foundations have also supported the Posse Foundation, including the Boston Foundation,¹¹ the Coastal Community Foundation,¹² and the Chicago Community Trust. ¹³

Criticisms

Several critics have opposed Posse Foundation’s approach on the grounds that it works with universities to admit students who would not otherwise be admitted. Students involved in the Posse programs are given a list of schools from which they are able to select which schools they would like to attend.. ¹⁴ Critics of the program have argued that the process sets Posse students up for failure by matching students who often have poor high school grades and average test scores with elite universities at which they are not equipped to succeed academically. ¹⁵

In recent years, two universities have supported these criticisms. Rice University terminated its partnership with the Posse Foundation, citing the poor academic performance of the Posse Foundation’s selected students. ¹⁶ In spring of 2016, Grinnell College publicly terminated its relationship with the Posse Foundation. The 2016 announcement by Grinnell College’s president cited low student retention and lack of academic success as key reasons for terminating the College’s engagement with Posse. ¹⁷

Leadership

Deborah Bial is the founder and president of the Posse Foundation. Bial has advocated for redesigning the college admission process, claiming that test scores should not be heavily considered in the admission process because their consideration leads to the acceptance of too many white students. ¹⁸

1. Blaire, Julie. “Power of the Posse” Education Week. March 22, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2020.
2. Blaire, Julie. “Power of the Posse” Education Week. March 22, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2020.
3. Irwin, Kate. The Scarlet & Black. February 21, 2020. Accessed October 12, 2020.  https://www.thesandb.com/article/final-retreat-for-grinnell-posse-scholars-approaches.html
4. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part I, Lines 8-10.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part I, Line 22.
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part XV.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part XV.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part XV.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Part XV.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Schedule I, Part II.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Schedule I. Part II.
12. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Schedule I. Part II.
13. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax” Guidestar.org. Accessed October 12, 2020. Schedule I. Part II.
14. Blaire, Julie. “Power of the Posse” Education Week. March 22, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2020.
15. Blaire, Julie. “Power of the Posse” Education Week. March 22, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2020.
16. Blaire, Julie. “Power of the Posse” Education Week. March 22, 2000. Accessed October 12, 2020.
17. Irwin, Kate. The Scarlet & Black. February 21, 2020. Accessed October 12, 2020.  https://www.thesandb.com/article/final-retreat-for-grinnell-posse-scholars-approaches.html
18. Sollinger, Marc. “The Real Issues Behind Getting Into College” Innovation Hub. April 7, 2016. Accessed October 12, 2020.  http://blogs.wgbh.org/innovation-hub/2016/4/7/guinier-bial-college/