Greater Hartford Gives Selected as #4 Most Innovative Company in Economic Development for Education Scholarship Initiative

The newly re-named Greater Hartford Gives Foundation has earned the #4 ranking on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Economic Development for creation of the Greater Futures Scholarship Program, developed to addresses higher education’s increasingly high cost.

Providing context for the selection, Fast Company noted that “The average tuition has doubled in the last 30 years, and that’s not counting the rising cost of student housing. Roughly a third of college students in the past year have considered dropping out due to financial burdens.”

In making the top 10 selection, Fast Company explained that “The Greater Hartford Gives Foundation decided it was time that the concept of a scholarship evolved. The Connecticut nonprofit’s new Greater Futures Scholarship Program, in partnership with Hartford Promise, aims to be a more realistic, and holistic, means of supporting higher education.”

The publication went on the detail the highly ranked program: “Students at Greater Hartford public schools will receive generous financial support—up to $100,000 over the course of four years—as well as up to a decade of additional support services including career coaching and training, mental health support, and financial assistance for books, laptops and emergency needs.

While the scholarship doesn’t require students to study in state, it is expected to dramatically boost the fortunes of the region’s graduates, a significant portion of whom will stay.”

Looking ahead to the array of benefits from the initiative, Fast Company asked and answered an essential question:

“The payoff? A study by the Parker Strategy Group found that over the course of a decade, with 100 students supported in each graduating class, the Greater Futures program would create 760 college graduates (50 with master’s degrees), $151 million contributed in additional local and state taxes, and entrepreneurial and investment success that would support and sustain 9,110 more jobs.”

Fast Company’s selections for the Most Innovative Companies in Economic Development 2026 were led by the State of New Mexico, The Next California /WWF, San Diego Unified School District, Greater Hartford Gives Foundation, and Lithium Loop (Nevada), followed by Save the Waves Coalition (California), Ox Delivers (UK), St. Louis Art Place Initiative, State of Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, and Re.Green (Brazil).