Maximizing Potential
Highly-motivated students from Essex County, NJ have dreams of college and career success.
We invest in their futures.
Opening the Door to a Brighter Tomorrow
Dorson Community Foundation enriches and develops the next generation of leaders and agents of change from under-served communities by emphasizing self-discovery and civic engagement to empower students on their path to and through post-secondary education and onto career success.
IN DEFENSE OF BLACK LIVES
“For newcomers entering this fight for racial justice, we ask that you join Dorson in the decades of hard work we’ve extended in the name of empowering students from the inner-city.”
-Natasha Scott, Executive Director
Our Mission
Providing inner-city youth with creative outlets, college readiness skills, and career development enrichment.
Our Programs
Through our hallmark, tuition-free, four-year Dorson Scholars Program, we support highly motivated high school students with intimate, high-impact college and career readiness enrichment.
Our Impact
This year, Dorson took great strides toward ensuring its sustenance and increasing its impact in Essex County, NJ and surrounding communities.
2000
students served since 1992.
33
students awarded scholarships to Cornell University Summer College since 2016.
98%
of Dorson graduates have continued on to earn a postsecondary degree.
Top 10
colleges attended by Dorson graduates include Georgetown, Princeton, NJIT, NYU.
In Their Own Words
Since 1992, Dorson Community Foundation has touched the lives of countless inner-city youth in Essex and surrounding countries.
"Mrs. Sonia Scott was one of the many rocks and foundation in making all things possible in my life. She was one of many individuals who opened up my aperture in believing that achieving anything in life is possible so long as it’s followed by hard work and dedication."
Joseph Powell
Bradman University, 2015
"I have had many memorable moments within those programs that Dorson Community Foundation has paired me with and it has positively impacted my outlook on success and the world outside of my hometown.
Faith Christian
College of New Jersey, 2023
"Dorson Community Foundation provided me with a lot of college readiness skills through all their different workshops. I was able to start polishing a professional resume before I even had any actual job experience. I remember a talk we had about time-management which honestly made me start to change my mindset in preparation for college."
Vanessa Aryee
New York University, 2022
"DCF played a major part in assisting my academic and overall preparedness for college. I learned a lot of soft skills, and I sharpened my math skills using DCF. Sonia Scott is my second mother. She has assisted my development the most since I've been apart of DCF."
Kamari Snow
New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2022
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280 South Harrison Street, Suite 300
East Orange, New Jersey 07018
P (973) 280-9565
