SoCal CAN's 20th Anniversary:
For 20 years, SoCal CAN has worked to expand college access, affordability, and completion for low-income, first-generation, and underserved students across Southern California. Yet, our students and communities face renewed threats to equitable college access and attainment. Rising costs, growing basic needs insecurity, and increasing efforts to hinder students’ right to an education are pushing college further out of reach. This is a moment to honor the progress this community has made—and a call to meet the urgency of now with clarity and collective action.
in state investments secured
students & families served annually
partner organizations
Sign the Pledge
SoCal CAN will work to increase college attainment in Los Angeles County by 5% every five years. This is a bold, measurable goal that builds on the infrastructure we’ve created and amplifies what we know works.
Student Impact
Every student deserves to know they can afford college, and to have the support to get there. California has the resources to lead the nation. We intend to use them. We will fight to make California #1 in FAFSA/CADAA completion, with a clear, nonnegotiable goal of surpassing 80% among high school seniors, so that no student misses out on the aid they’ve already earned.
Coalition Building
SoCal CAN’s strength has always been its network. Our commitment is to make that network stronger. We will invest in our member organizations’ capacity, create deeper pathways for professional development and peer connection, and ensure that every organization in our coalition has what it needs to show up fully for students.
Policy Advocacy
Access means nothing if college remains out of reach. We will advocate to reform the policies and funding structures that govern higher education in California – fighting for direct enrollment pathways, stronger support for basic needs and living costs, and clearer connections between credentials and careers. When the system works, students don’t have to overcome it – they move through it.
Emergency Response
The last several years taught us that crises don’t wait and neither can we. We will build the infrastructure and collective strategies our network needs to respond quickly when students are most at risk, and to turn a disruption into an opportunity for lasting change.
Thank You to Our Supporters
