Closing the Gap
Closing the Achievement Gap in Sacramento
Funding local programs that empower underserved youth through education, mentorship, and opportunity.
What We Do
A group of leaders in the Sacramento area founded Closing the Gap with the mission of funding nonprofit organizations committed to reducing the academic achievement gap in the region.
We seek to help youth reach their highest potential through preparation, education, and vocation.
Through the generosity of local sponsors, Closing the Gap has distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to local programs that have helped more than 1,000 students avoid the achievement gap. Additionally, we have identified and funded local, nascent programs that are innovative and grass-roots in nature and have flourished into highly recognized examples of how the achievement gap can be diminished, if not eliminated, in our schools.
By supporting these local programs that provide tutoring, college counseling, career guidance, and real-world experience to students from 8th grade and up, Closing the Gap is increasing students’ academic performance and preparing them for college, a successful career, and a bright future.
Fund Your Program- Submit a Proposal
The Closing the Gap Foundation is now accepting funding proposals for the 2026–2027 school year from Sacramento-area programs that prepare underserved students in grades 8–12 for college, careers, and lifelong success.
Closing the Gap Celebrates 20 Years of Empowering Students
For two decades, Closing the Gap (CTG) has worked to close the academic achievement gap and empower students across the Capital Region. This year marks an important milestone as Closing the Gap celebrates its 20th Anniversary and reflects on the students, families, educators, partners, and community members who have helped make its work possible.
Few goals in education have been as frustrating and urgent as the deep, generational achievement gap between the haves and the have-nots in California schools.
It is an article of faith in the K-12 school system that every student — regardless of race, creed, wealth, or color — can and should be academically successful. But in measures from standardized tests to dropout rates to college completion, the achievement gap has persisted in cities, rural communities, and suburbs, a sign that opportunity is not yet equal for many children in California classrooms.
More than 1,000 underserved students in Sacramento-area public schools benefit each year from our programs.