TheDream.US is a scholarship fund created for immigrants and undocumented migrants, accepting applications from teenagers and young adult immigrants even if they do not qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs. The fund partners with American Universities, and by 2020 had counted providing financial aid to over 6,000 migrants. ¹ The fund’s name is a reference to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, proposed legislation that would create a path to permanent residency for certain classes of migrants. ²

The fund is a project of the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit organization managed by philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ³

Programs

According to its website, TheDream.US grants two types of scholarships for migrants: the National Scholarship and the Opportunity Scholarship. Anyone who arrived to the United States before November 2015 is eligible for financial aid. ⁴

National Scholarship

TheDream.US calls this scholarship the equivalent of a “Pell Grant” for students and provides up to $34,000 in financial aid and stipends. ⁵

Opportunity Scholarship

TheDream.US also specifically provides financial aid to applicants in states that do not allow undocumented migrants to receive in-state tuition or which bar them from public universities. ⁶

Leadership

Founders

TheDream.US was founded by Don Graham, Carlos Gutierrez, and Henry R. Muñoz III. Don Graham is the board chair of Graham Holdings Company, the former publisher for the Washington Post. Carlos Gutierrez is the chair & CEO at EmPath, the former chair and CEO of Kellogg’s, and from 2005 to 2009 was the Secretary of Commerce during President George W. Bush’s second term. Henry R. Munoz III is the Finance Chair Emeritus of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  ⁷

President and CEO

Maria Gabriela Pacheco is the president and CEO of TheDream.US. She previously worked as the program director for advocacy, development, and communications for the Fund. She became a naturalized citizen in 2023. ⁸

Affiliates

TheDream.US partners with more than 70 colleges in 16 states, which the fund evaluates for their support of undocumented immigrant students. All partner colleges assign a “scholar advisor” to assist scholarship recipients with “emotional, lifestyle, and financial challenges.” ⁹

Activities

In September 2020, three illegal immigrants who received TheDream.US scholarships published op-eds in several local newspapers attacking the Trump administration’s efforts to end the DACA program. One of them, Oscar Hernandez Ortiz, previously worked as a public school teacher before taking an advisory board position at the Arizona Department of Education despite his lack of legal status. ¹⁰

Funding

TheDream.US has previously received donations from left-of-center organizations, family foundations, and specific individuals. This includes Don Graham and Amanda Bennet, Jeff Bezos and his then-wife MacKenzie Scott, Pam and Pierre Omidyar, the Gates Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. ¹¹ In January 2018, Bezos and Scott gave $33 million to the fund to provide scholarships to 1,000 illegal immigrants. ¹²

As of October 2020, TheDream.US operated a GoFundMe fundraiser that had raised over $7.5 million, with the goal of raising $30 million. According to the fundraiser profile, Don Graham and philanthropist Bill Ackman would match all $30 million with contributions of their own. ¹³

In December 2025, TheDream.US was one of multiple organizations that received a grant from Yield Giving, the philanthropic initiative started by MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. In 2025 alone, Scott, through Yield Giving, donated over $7.16 billion to philanthropies and other charity organizations around the world. ¹⁴

1. TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://thedream.us
2. “S.1291 – DREAM Act,” United States Congress, August 1, 2001. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/senate-bill/1291
3. ”New Venture Fund.” opencorporates.com Accessed June 17, 2025. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_2689437
4. “Our Scholarships,” TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://thedream.us/scholarships/
5. “National Scholarship,” TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://thedream.us/scholarships/national-scholarship/
6. “Opportunity Scholarship,” TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://thedream.us/scholarships/opportunity-scholarship/
7. “Our People,” TheDream.US. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://thedream.us/about-us/people/
8. “Meet Our Team.” TheDream.US, Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.thedream.us/about/our-team/
9. “Our Partner Colleges,” TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://thedream.us/about-us/partner-colleges/
10.       Sadhana Singh, “Three Dreamers’ Op-Eds Make Powerful Case for Permanent Protections and Opportunities for DREAMers,” TheDream.US, September 3, 2020. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.thedream.us/news/three-dreamers-op-eds-make-powerful-case-sept-3/
11.      “Meet Our Supporters,” TheDream.US. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.thedream.us/about-us/our-supporters/
12. “Bezos Donates $33 Million For Dreamers’ Educations,” The NonProfit Times, January 12, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/bezos-donates-33-million-dreamers-educations/
13.    “TheDream.US,” GoFundMe. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://charity.gofundme.com/thedreamus
14. Scott, MacKenzie. “We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.” Yield Giving, December 5, 2025. https://yieldgiving.com/essays/we-are-the-ones-we-ve-been-waiting-for