Greater Steps Scholars

If you are a student or alumni seeking information about available resources or scholarships, you have come to the right place.

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Help Us Invest in our Future through the Greater Steps Scholars Program by transforming lives for marginalized youth in our community

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ABOUT

Learn how Greater Steps serves as a vehicle of hope for young people with the desire to achieve, but who lack adequate financial means

WHAT WE DO | HOW WE DO IT | WHY IT MATTERS

WHAT WE DO

We fight poverty by helping students access education through providing scholarships, mentoring and guidance to our community's most vulnerable students – those living in subsidized properties managed by INLIVIAN who are under 25 years of age and plan to attend college, technical, or vocational school.

It is our vision that financial access to a post-secondary education combined with the emotional support and social capital will create viable paths to self-sufficiency and economic mobility for under-resourced students.

HOW WE DO IT

Each Greater Steps Scholar receives up to five years of scholarships, but our support doesn’t end there. We consider the entire picture of what a Scholar needs to succeed, providing mandatory life, financial and career prep workshops, one-on-one coaching, mentorship, and exposure to potential career opportunities that will help them succeed in their chosen post-secondary journey and beyond.

WHY IT MATTERS

By age 24, 77% of students from the top income quartile earn a college degree, while only 9% of students from low-income families reach the same pinnacle. Students from low-income households or the first generation of their family to attend college face additional barriers on the path to a college degree. Students from these backgrounds are more likely to:

Work at least part-time to help support their families
Care for siblings and family members
Be academically unprepared for college coursework
Face financial barriers while they apply to and attend college
Have fewer resources to rely on for financial aid and emotional support

We believe if young people have a desire to achieve, they should have the chance to do so, regardless of their financial means. Where there’s an opportunity for education, there are opportunities for hope, freedom, and confidence – and transforming one’s life for the better. A postsecondary education is critical to one’s long-term financial security, yet students and families living in public and subsidized housing face significant social, academic, and financial barriers to postsecondary

"Steps lead you out, but Greater Steps lead you up."

Greater Steps Motto

Greater Steps Scholars plays an important role in breaking the cycle of generational poverty in Charlotte as we work to help our community address economic mobility and social capital barriers that impede our students’ success in school and life.

1,000 Scholarships and Counting - For 40 years, John Crawford has helped youth in public housing attend college.

What's Next for this one-of-a-kind Charlotte scholarship?

May 2024 Charlotte Observer article
John Crawford and Christopher Davis meet in west Charlotte. Christopher lived in multiple public housing developments and became one of 1,000 students Crawford helped over the past 40 years.

Charlotte, NC (May 2024 - by Lisa Vernon Sparks) — Sometime in the early 1970s, John Crawford received an offer he couldn't refuse.

The Charlotte Housing Authority approached him about a job working with families and children who lived in its dozens of complexes. Crawford, then a school teacher and coach, loved working with children. It was a natural fit and he accepted the offer.

But early in the gig, Crawford saw things he found troubling - prostitution, drug dealing and teens overdosing at some of the properties, making it an unsafe environment, he said.

"I wanted to change that," he said.

1983

The year Greater Steps Scholars began

981

youth scholarship recipients to date

4.2

Million in scholarship money awarded

80

colleges & institutions attended by our scholars

They say

I am committed to Greater Steps Scholars because its mission and purpose—as expressed and modeled by John Crawford since he started the fund—is fundamentally good, and fundamentally right. Every child deserves the opportunity and expectation of a college education.
Ward Davis, Greater Steps Board of Directors
There is no better feeling then providing life changing options to those who do not think they have options. That is what Greater Steps Scholars does by providing scholarships to those who may not think college is an option.
Lynn Leary, Immediate Past Board Chair, Employment Practices Counsel, Inc
I believe that Greater Steps Scholars is one the most beneficial community activities that I am involved in. The academic potential of these students is unlimited and their financial need is great. I encourage individuals to help support these students, because they are our future.
Dr. Arthur Jackson, UNC Charlotte
I wanted to serve on the Greater Steps Scholars Selection Committee because they financial assist young women and men who want to attend college and would not otherwise be able to go. This affects their lives in a positive way. I want to be a part of that because it also enriches my life as well.
Collete M. Jeffries, CMS