Join us on October 8, 2024.
We raised $779,436 against a $650,000 fundraising goal for our School Night event in 2023. These funds will transform the lives of low-income high school students who deserve a great education and a boundless future.
School Night will be held again on October 8, 2024, at the historical Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco. Stay tuned for more information to come.
Keep scrolling down to learn more about last year’s event.
Support Our Mission
We invest $10,000 in each student, to support their three-year journey in our program, and to provide a lifelong network for them as alumni. Every contribution is a meaningful step toward changing a young person’s life.
For our October 2023 “School Night” fundraiser, we raised $779,436 against a goal of $650,000. These funds will go toward supporting nearly 78 students in our program.
Click below to donate today.
View last year’s event gallery, and see our sponsors!
Meet Our Community
We are committed to removing barriers that prevent first-generation college students from realizing their potential. Our organization works with partners that are committed to the same mission.
On October 2023, our Keynote Speaker was Hydra Mendoza (Chief of Strategic Relationships at Salesforce). Hydra has over 25 years of experience working as a community organizer, government and public affairs advisor, and education and equity leader. In 2005, Hydra was appointed by then Mayor Gavin Newsom to serve as his Senior Advisor on Education. In 2006, 2010, and 2014, Hydra successfully won a citywide bid and re-elections for a seat on the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education. In 2018, Hydra was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve as the Deputy Chancellor for the Division of Community Empowerment in the New York City Department of Education. In her current role at Salesforce, Hydra has been the key architect behind the 10-year public education partnership that has resulted in an investment of over $110M to SFUSD and OUSD.
On October 2023, our Student Alumnus Speaker was Benton Liang (MMBay Class of 2016, Harvard Class of 2020, a current software engineer at Splunk, and a Mentor and Instructor at MMBay). Benton’s journey with MMBay began 10 years ago, when he was a high school Sophomore looking for mentorship and support. We are proud of Benton’s accomplishments, and prouder still to have him share his story and insights with you.
We encourage you to revisit last year’s event by viewing our gallery of photos here and watching our speeches here!
Click the link below to see the list of incredible sponsors for last year’s 2023 School Night event!
Invest in changing the lives of our students.
Hear Our Stories
Minds Matter Bay Area connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.
Our organization is unique in its depth. Students in our program work with two volunteer mentors for three years, receive weekly academic and social-emotional support, are funded for summer experiences that expose them to college and career options, and receive world-class guidance on their college and financial aid applications.
100 percent of our alumni have been accepted to four-year colleges, 100 percent are on track to graduate from college within four years, and all of our students graduate college faced with a range of exciting career options.
Click below to read some of our stories.