About the Foundation
College access, delivered one scholar at a time
The William H. Douglas Foundation is a student advocacy group working to move the needle toward higher enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in post-secondary education. We engage students where they are and deliver the access, information, and resources they need to attend the college of their choice, regardless of socio-economic background.
WHD's success is measured by the success of our students.
- Authenticity
- Excellence
- Integrity
- Respect
- Service
- Unity
Who we are
The William H. Douglas Foundation is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to raise enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for students pursuing post-secondary education and careers. We serve students and families for whom the college process is unfamiliar territory, and we stay with them through it.
Our advocates are highly motivated, and most are graduates of our own Academy. They bring firsthand knowledge of the hard work that goes into guiding a successful scholar, and a commitment to the communities where they live.
How we work
Three things decide whether a student reaches the college of their choice. We provide all three, together, rather than one in isolation.
Access
We meet students where they are and open doors to the colleges and futures they are aiming for.
Information
Clear, current guidance on admissions, financial aid, and the whole road to acceptance.
Resources
Tours, workshops, fellowships, and internships that turn a plan into a place at a university.
Our standards
Advocates who have walked it
Most of our advocates are graduates of our own Academy. They have firsthand knowledge of the work it takes to guide a scholar to acceptance, and they are accomplished in their own right.
Measured by our students
The Foundation's success is measured by the success of our students — enrollment, retention, and graduation, not activity for its own sake.
Careful with families' trust
We work with minors and their families. Consent, privacy, and safeguarding are built into how we operate and how our platform is designed, not added afterwards.
Our namesake
William H. Douglas, Jr. (1924–1995)
Mr. Douglas was raised on the family farm in Henderson County, Tennessee, working the cotton fields from early childhood. He finished the ninth grade before returning to the fields full time, and in 1943, at nineteen, enlisted in the U.S. Army — leaving in 1946 with an honorable discharge and numerous medals.
Settling in South Los Angeles with a family to support, he earned his GED and studied mechanical drawing and tool design at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. He joined North American Rockwell as a janitor and retired from it an aerospace engineer.
Education, determination, and perseverance were key to his success — and they are the same three things we ask of, and build in, every scholar.
Work with us
Whether you are a student, a family, a school, or a funder — the next step is a conversation.