Experts at every level of education and government have been talking about school reform for over 30 years. And while in that time we’ve made some progress, far too many kids are still trapped in schools that don’t work for them. And with the large bureaucracy that our educational system is, dramatic and practical improvements just won’t come soon enough, especially for kids from lower-income families. That means too many kids in each new generation will get left further and further behind. In fact, a large number of today’s kids from low-income families will never graduate high school, and that’s completely unacceptable.
WHY ACE
Everybody wants school reform. Kids like Javier actually need it.
98.9%
High school graduation rate
Our ACE Partner schools have a 98.9% graduation rate. Most of our graduates go on to college, trades, or military.
80,000
Scholarships
worth nearly $212M have been provided over 24 years
14,090
ACE Scholars 2023-24
We have helped over fourteen thousand students in the 2023-2024 school year.
Let’s face it. Trying to tackle school reform all at once is a pretty daunting task.
But then we realized something — we don’t need to. Instead, if we could help just one child at a time, we’d be able to have real impact starting from day one. And so we set out on a mission. We noticed something that everyone else seemed to overlook. While there were a lot of kids from lower-income families failing in their current schools, there were a lot of really great schools with extra capacity. We saw independent schools operating with their own philosophies and teaching styles. Yet, as different as they all were, each excelled with the type of students they served. Maybe the problem wasn’t that there weren’t enough good schools, but rather that low-income families didn’t have a way into these schools. So we decided to change that.
Why wait for others, when we could make a difference ourselves?
This is the philosophy behind ACE Scholarships, a nonprofit organization that raises money from generous donors and then awards financial scholarships to students from low-income families so they can attend the school of their choice. ACE Scholarships has quickly become an educational success story. In fact, since 2000, we’ve provided over 80,000 Scholarships worth nearly $212 million, giving children from low-income families the chance to succeed. And succeed they have, graduating high school with most going on to college, trade school, or military.
Who we help
ACE Scholarships works with low-income families from a variety of different circumstances across numerous states. To qualify for an ACE Scholarship, a family must meet the income requirements. ACE serves lower-income families who fall under the 350% Federal Poverty Guideline percentage. Our families have an average income of $56,686 a year.
Like any great idea, you have to start somewhere.
We started in Colorado. Click to learn more about the states we now work in.
We major in economics.
ACE Scholarships makes financial and economic sense. For each student that graduates high school, it saves society $9,434 each year. Funding for public schools has increased by over 300% in the last 45 years. Yet, the academic performance of students has remained virtually unchanged. Kids in elementary and high school today can’t afford to wait any longer for the system to change. Especially when there’s a proven and cost-effective alternative. For about $3,000 a student, ACE can provide a scholarship to a low-income family so their student can get out of a situation where they’re failing and into an environment where they can succeed.
Meet our board members and staff.
Board of Directors
DEBORAH FLORA
Partner/Co-Founder Lamplight Entertainment and Whetstone Media Group
NATASHA HARRIS
Principal, Biegert Group, Inc.
ERIC KOEPLIN
CEO Alpha Principle
SCOTT MCLEAN
Denver CO
(Treasurer)
RICK SCHMITZ
Partner, SKS Ventures
JOE SMITH
Partner, Bartlit Beck LLP
(Chairman)
MATT TURNER
Managing Partner, MorningStar Senior Living
(Secretary)
LISA WALSH
Denver, CO
(Vice Chair)
MIKE WARD
Owner, Mike Ward Infiniti, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Fiat
BERT WILLIAMS
COO, Johnson Financial Group
LIZ WRIGHT
Denver, CO
National Advisory Board
JOY AND DONALD "BOYSIE" BOLLINGER
Louisiana
National Advisory Board Co-Chairman
GOVERNOR JEB BUSH
Florida
Honorary National Advisory Board Member
BETH AND JONATHAN CARR
President, Christian Brothers Foundation
Texas
MARILYN AND PETE COORS
Colorado
FRAN AND TERRY COMBS
CEO, Integrated Airline Services
Colorado
CATHY AND ALEX CRANBERG
Chairman, Aspect Energy, LLC
Florida
HEIDI CRUZ
Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Texas
CYNTHIA FISHER
Entrepreneur
LYNN FRIESS
Founder, Friess Associates
Wyoming
National Advisory Board Co-Chairman
LANE AND BOBBI GRIGSBY
Founder & Chairman, Cajun
Industries LLC
Louisiana
DIANE AND JEFF RIGGS
Principal, Essex Financial Group
Colorado
LINDA AND EDDIE RISPONE
Louisiana
MARY AND JEFF ROSS
Senior Strategic Advisor, Atlantic Aviation
Colorado
CAROL AND JOHN SAEMAN
Colorado
HANNA SKANDERA
Colorado
SUSAN AND RICK SCHMITZ
Colorado
KEELY AND SCOT SELLERS
Colorado
CECE AND MATT STULLER
Founder, CEO, and Chairman, Stuller, Inc
Louisiana
LISA AND TIM WALSH
CEO, Confluence Builders, LLB
Colorado
LIZ AND CHRIS WRIGHT
CEO, Liberty Energy
Colorado
NANCY AND MIKE ZOELLNER
Managing Partner, ZF Capital
Colorado
Staff
LAUREN AULENBACH Director of School & Family Engagement, ACE Texas
JAY BALLARD Development Database Coordinator
SINDY BECKERLE National Foundations Manager
ERIK BILLINGER Chief Development Officer
LENA BRANCH Content Manager
JO BRINKERHOFF National Events Manager
LISA BURKE Staff Accountant
TINA BURKE Director of Development Operations
JUDY CASTANEDA Senior ESA Program Specialists
MIKE COLEMAN Chief Program Officer
JON COOK ESA Program Service Delivery Director
JASON DIFRAIA President
KIRSTEN EASTWOOD VP of Scholarships
RHONDA GONZALES Senior Accountant
JACKIE GUGLIELMO Vice President of ESA Programs
MELISSA HALLAM Event Planner
JOSH HARRIS ESA Web Content Administrator
KARI HEBBLE VP of Development & Planned Giving
CATHERINE "CAT" HENDRIX Director of External Affairs
DACIA HENSHAW Senior Director of Marketing
DENISE HERNANDEZ Scholarship Program Coordinator
RITA HOEFT Controller
AJ KUHLE President, ACE Kansas & Missouri
JON LINEBERGER President, ACE Texas
MAX MARIAN Scholarship Program Coordinator
HALLE MATHUES Human Resources Director
ELISE MATSON National Foundations Coordinator
MELISSA MCCORMICK LANDRY President, ACE Louisiana
MARK MCLAUGHLIN Chief Technology Officer
MAGGIE MULVIHILL Development Associate, ACE Colorado
MACKENZIE MURRAY Director of Private Scholarship Programs
ALEX NUÑEZ Director of Development, Houston
BRITTANI O'BRIEN President, ACE Colorado
DAVID OLSON President, ACE Mississippi
MIKE PRITCHARD Chief Financial Officer
NORTON RAINEY Chief Executive Officer
LINDSEY RHODES Director of Public Program
LISA RUSSELL President, ACE Montana & Wyoming
RYAN SCHMITZ Development Associate, ACE Colorado
SHEILA SILLETTO Executive Assistant
CALLI VIGIL Event Planner
ALEX WALSH Data Engineer
Want to see our report card?
ACE is proud to receive Charity Navigator’s highest rating, 4 stars.
THE RIGHT SCHOOL CAN HELP CHANGE THE STORY FOR A CHILD IN NEED.
Donate Today »EVERY CHILD DESERVES
A GREAT EDUCATION.
That’s our stand. At ACE Scholarships we’re committed to helping lower-income parents provide that opportunity to their children. Our mission is to advance K-12 educational freedom, with a focus on securing financial support for families so they may access the quality education of their choice.
