Join The Pathway Initiative This Giving Tuesday: Invest in the Future of Diverse Medicine

Dear Friend, 

At The Pathway Initiative (TPI), our mission is clear and urgent: to increase access for talented and motivated African American, Hispanic, and Latino students to achieve their career potential in medicine and support their return to underserved communities. This work resists racism, builds wealth, and addresses the serious shortage of clinicians of color in the United States.

For our students—many of whom are the first in their families to pursue higher education—TPI is more than just a program; it’s the lifeline that provides the longitudinal mentoring, paid clinical internships, and rigorous academic preparation they need to succeed in one of the world’s most demanding fields. This work has proven results to bridge the opportunity gap and put talented young students in the city’s best internships and top medical schools, even when systemic barriers stand in their way.

News in 2025 and The Unprecedented Challenge

Today, the work of TPI is more critical than ever. Across the country, educational programs designed to support diverse students are facing escalating attacks, budget cuts, and legal challenges if they provide services to diverse communities. This erosion of equity and inclusion efforts threatens to reverse decades of hard-won progress, making the path to medical school narrower than ever for those who already face socio-economic barriers.

In 2025, The Pathway Initiative lost $200,000 in funding because of this climate. We have been working tirelessly to react by diversifying our funding, building new sustainable partnerships with world-class life sciences institutions, and focusing on quality of programs so that students’ futures are not impacted by these decisions out of their control.

We cannot rely on institutions alone. This is why TPI’s community-based, donor-supported model is our greatest strength.

We are asking you to consider making a one-time donation of $400 to help make sure high-performing kids who have done everything right don’t see any reduction in services. We want to make sure every child who wants to pursue STEM has the ability to do so, and you can help us.

When you contribute to TPI, you are directly investing in the future health of our communities. Your donation ensures that bright students—like the 63% Black and 27% Latino students we served in our last cohort—don’t have to put their dreams on hold or choose a different career simply because they cannot afford coursework tuition or because their internships are unpaid.

Your Investment. Their Impact.

Your support closes the gap between potential and opportunity, creating lasting impact:

For Students: Your donation provides access to essential resources, like our paid summer internships, which offer crucial lab and patient-facing experience. As one student shared: “I was able to see people who look like me…it was great because they took their time to explain things about life and how you should keep going.”

For Communities: Studies show that when patients of color are treated by doctors who share their background, health outcomes improve due to better communication and trust. By funding a diverse medical workforce, you are contributing to better public health for everyone.

Please, consider making a tax-deductible donation today.

• A gift of $200 funds a critical STEM tutorial for up to five high school students.
• A contribution of $1,000 supports SAT/ACT admissions test preparation for several aspiring doctors.
• A generous donation of $2,800 completely covers a paid summer internship for one high school or middle school student.

Every dollar gives a talented student a chance to become a transformative leader in medicine.

Thank you for standing with The Pathway Initiative and protecting the dreams of our future doctors.

With sincere thanks,