Why company money goes straight to students

When we started SRI we had to choose what kind of organization to be. Many groups that work on access to research teach: they run courses, workshops, and mentoring programs. That work is useful. It does not pay anyone's rent.

The students we kept meeting did not need another workshop. They had the grades and they had the offer from a lab. They needed the money to take it. So we built an organization that does one thing: it raises money and gives it to students.

Why companies

A student cannot raise that money alone. An organization with a record and a clear use of funds can ask a company for it. Companies give for two reasons. They hire scientists, clinicians, and analysts, and the students we fund are on the way to those jobs. And many of them already fund economic opportunity: paid experience leads to more job offers and higher starting pay than unpaid experience.¹

One company gift covers one whole position. That is a clean thing to ask for and a clean thing to report on.

Why we stay small

A small group of college students runs SRI. We could grow. We choose not to. A bigger organization needs a marketing budget, and every dollar that goes to marketing is a dollar that does not reach a student. We would sooner fund one more summer of housing.

What this costs us

Almost nobody has heard of us. We accept that. The students we fund know who we are, and so do the companies that fund them. If your company should be one of them, write to us.

Sources

1. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Position statement: U.S. internships. Reports results of the NACE 2022 Student Survey. naceweb.org

Sources checked September 21, 2026. See every source we cite.