10,000 Degrees Wins Multiple Awards in the 6th Annual Anthem Awards Higher Education and Public Service Categories
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — November 6, 2026– 10,000 Degrees announced today that it has been named a Gold and Silver Anthem Award winner in Higher Education and Public Service. The awards were in the following categories:
- Gold Anthem Award Winner in Public Service, Education, Art & Culture for Scholars to Changemakers: 10,000 Degrees Fellowship Program
- Silver Anthem Award Winner in Higher Education, Education, Art & Culture for Redefining College Access in the Bay Area
10,000 Degrees is an organization dedicated to achieving educational equity for students from low-income backgrounds to get to and through college and to launch meaningful careers. Since its founding in 1981, 10,000 Degrees has supported 92,000 students and awarded over $123 million in scholarships. Its scholars graduate at a rate twice the national average, and over 85% do so debt-free.
10,000 Degrees’ Fellows — who are often 10,000 Degrees alumni — connect meaningfully with students using a strength-based approach to help them navigate their entire college and career journey, reminding them that they don’t have to do it alone. They help students demystify financial aid and scholarship requirements, connect with campus resources, plan community college transfers, and more. A transformative $42 million gift from MacKenzie Scott in 2025 is now propelling the organization into a new phase of growth and expansion.
“The multiple recognitions received today belong to our Fellows, our staff and the students and families who trust us to walk with them,” said Kim Mazzuca, CEO of 10,000 Degrees. “It tells us that the mission behind our work resonates well beyond the Bay Area. A student’s zip code or family income should never decide whether they earn a degree. We’re honored and even more motivated to open pathways to higher education for students of all backgrounds.”
Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Judges for the 6th Annual Anthem Awards include Heather Elliott, Chief Development & Marketing Officer, National 4-H Council; Angie Lawry, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Colorectal Cancer Alliance; Shelby Georgis, CCO, HLK; Max Friedman, Co-Founder & CEO, Givebutter; Heather Malenshek, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Alex Schmider, Senior Director of Entertainment, GLAAD; Elizabeth Gray, Chief Executive Officer, National Audubon Society; Aurelia Figueroa, Chief Sustainability Officer, Breitling; Jonathan Adashek, SVP, Chief Global Affairs Officer, IBM; Megan Ranney, Dean, Yale School of Public Health; Mariko Silver, President and CEO, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Gwynne Gauntlett Global Lead, Digital Giving + Engagement, United Nations Development Programme; Thiago Elias, EVP, Executive Director of Design, Edelman; Alexandra Gordon, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Acumen; among others.
“The work of social impact doesn’t pause when conditions get harder, and this year’s Anthem Winners proved it,” said Anthem Awards General Manager, Patricia McLoughlin. “Facing new challenges, they kept building, kept organizing, and kept delivering for the people and causes they serve. They set a new standard for good, one defined as much by persistence as by results.”
The 6th Annual Anthem Awards received more than 2,500 submissions from 43 countries worldwide, the organization’s largest competition to date. The Anthem Awards are recognizing the work that is setting the standard for good worldwide.