History
Michael Osheowitz, founder of
SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity)
1963
SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity) was founded by investment banking consultant, Michael Osheowitz, as a mentoring program to help underserved students gain admission to competitive colleges and universities. He recruited executives at top firms in law, finance, and advertising to work one-on-one with his “Scholars” to help get them into colleges such as Harvard, Dartmouth, Williams, Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Columbia, and Brown as well as SUNY and CUNY schools.
1980
SEO Career launches as a summer internship program for underserved college students. In the first summer, 11 SEO Career interns were placed at four investment banks.
2000
SEO London launches.
2006
U.S. Department of Education research shows that “A” grades in low-income schools equal “C” grades in affluent schools. SEO’s founding program is transformed from a mentor-focused experience to a rigorous, out-of-school academic program — SEO Scholars — that begins in the ninth grade and continues through college graduation.
SEO moves its headquarters to the heart of the Financial District in New York City.
SEO Career launches in China.
2009
SEO Alternative Investments launches to provide education, exposure, training, and mentoring opportunities to talented professionals traditionally underserved in the alternative investments sector.
SEO Career launches in Vietnam.
2010
SEO Scholars is independently recommended to donors as a high-performing organization in the College Access and Success field by Social Impact Research, an independent research department of Root Cause.
Read SEO’s Newsletters from Winter 2010.
2011
SEO Scholars expands to San Francisco.
The College Board recognizes SEO Scholars as one of the recipients of the 2011 CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Awards. The $5,000 grant helps sustain the program, recognizing our “innovation and demonstrated efficacy in increasing the percentage of low-income students who are ready for, get into or get through college successfully.”
2012
An independent evaluation confirms that SEO Scholars closes the achievement gap for low-income students.
Over 1,000 New York City rising 9th graders applied for 127 spots in SEO Scholars.
SEO Career places 321 college interns at 55 partner companies and organizations.
SEO is selected as one of the top-performing non-profits in the country by Social Impact Exchange’s new giving platform, S&I 100. Each of the 100 organizations included has been rigorously screened for proof of impact and ability to expand.
Read SEO’s Newsletter from Winter and Summer 2012.
2013
A record $6.4 million is raised at SEO’s 50th Anniversary Awards Dinner.
SEO Scholars is recognized by The New York Times, The New York Post, PBS American Graduate Day, USA Today, NBC Latino, MundoFOX and others.
SEO Career launches in Ghana, Africa.
Read SEO’s Newsletter from Summer 2013.
Invest in SEO’s Future
2014
Henry Kravis is named chairman of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.
Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, awards SEO its fifth four-star rating.
2015
SEO Scholars doubles its impact in NYC by welcoming its largest class of 9th grade public high school students ever.
Read SEO’s Newsletter from Summer 2015.
2016
The Opportunity Makers, The First Half-Century of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity is published by Charles Rutheiser.
Read SEO’s Newsletter from Fall 2016.
2017
Charity Navigator awards SEO with a Perfect 100 Score for financial accountability and transparency. This score places SEO in the top 1% of all charities in the U.S.
2019
A record $7.5+ million is raised at SEO’s Annual Awards Dinner.
Read our SEO Newsletter from Summer and Fall 2019.
2020
Due to the ongoing pandemic, SEO shifted all programs to a virtual program model.
Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, awards SEO a coveted four-star rating for its sound fiscal management, the ninth time SEO earned this distinction. Less than 5% of nonprofits have eight straight four-star ratings.
SEO launched two new SEO programs: the SEO Tech Developer, and the SEO Leadership Institute.
2022
SEO expands its SEO Scholars program, with the partnership of shift_ed, to North Carolina, accepting 40+ SEO Scholars in the first cohort.
