Over a million students—mostly poor and not white—drop out of U.S. schools each year. This fact is not likely to be news to anyone committed to improving educational opportunities for our nation’s at-risk students. But, despite good intentions, individuals often lack the time, relevant experience, and expertise to understand where their capital can have the greatest impact.

Pathways to Student Success: A Guide to Translating Good Intentions into Meaningful Impact was written for individuals who seek to go beyond charity by actively searching for opportunities to produce as much good as possible with the dollars available. In this guide, the Center addresses the critical questions that must be answered to achieve the biggest bang for every philanthropic buck, including what is a meaningful change to target, what activities lead to that change for at-risk students, and how much does it cost to make that change.