COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On Tuesday, the Sachs Foundation announced the selection of 53 Black scholars across Colorado who will receive a total of more than $1.9 million in scholarships.
“Each year, we award a new class of scholars. We've had 94 classes of scholars since our inception, and so each year, we reach out to the community and have students apply for our scholarships. We look for things from their academic performance to financial need to their character, which can be anything from how they lead, how they serve their community, how they serve their families, just ways that they are leaders and advocates in the community that we can invest in,” said Ben Ralston, Sachs Foundation CEO.
Ralston said the Sachs Foundation, which was founded in 1931 to address inequities for Black Americans, understands how important the scholarships are right now.
“At this current moment, a lot of equity programs are under attack. And for us, we just look at the question of whether the systems have been addressed, the systems of inequity. And if you look at things like the fact that the average Black undergraduate student graduates with $25,000 more in student loan debt than the average white student does, if you look at that the median Black household has $240,000 less than the median white household that's today in 2025, obviously there are historic inequities that have not been addressed,” Ralston said.
Ralston said the foundation has encountered similar challenging moments and inequities over its nearly 100-year history.
“We have existed during times when there have been movements, you know, the Civil Rights Movement, there was a lot of backlash about doing work to support Black communities, but whatever the political moment of the day is, we exist until those inequities are gone,” Ralston said. “I also think that then there's the issue of higher education and the fact that there's just not enough funding for such exceptional students across the board.”
Sachs Scholar Sarah Mohamed Ali, who is currently a senior in high school at a Denver-area school, said the scholarship means a lot to her.
“I'm someone who's a first-generation student going to college, so I'll be the first in my family to attend college, and my parents immigrated from Sudan. So, I just feel like this scholarship really eliminates those financial barriers that would come along with going to a school,” Ali said.
Ali said she worried about the state of scholarships and financial aid, given the current political climate.
“I was definitely very worried about it… I think it's even more important than ever to be vocal about these issues and to share your perspective about what's going on,” Ali said. "I would just tell the younger students in high school who are still ready to apply to college to dream big. There's always opportunities like the Sachs Foundation and others where you're able to achieve this higher education, and to just not let this political climate let you feel down."
The Sachs Foundation undergraduate and graduate scholarship applications open online Jan. 1 through March 15 each year.
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