What we put in,
and what follows.
Seven stages, from the resources the program runs on to what becomes possible across generations. Each one classified by how well we can actually support it.
The pathway
The logic model translates our theory of change into a causal pathway: inputs, activities, outputs, and then outcomes at four widening time horizons. Each stage is classified as evidence-based, logic-based, or assumption-based, so what rests on measurement is distinguishable from what rests on reasoning and what remains a working hypothesis.
The pathway is interrupted once, between the short-term and medium-term outcomes. That is the point where our causal contribution stops.
- Evidence-based. Supported by our own data, published research, or both.
- Logic-based. A reasonable inference, consistent with the evidence but not validated by our own data.
- Assumption-based. A belief we hold that has not been tested and could be wrong.
Inputs
What the program runs on.
Evidence-based
FundingA concentrated funding base sized to the integrated program.
- Annual operating budget aligned to program scale
- Annual independent audits
- Funding concentrated in the financial services ecosystem, diversified across the firms within it
Scholar pipelineThe selection apparatus that assembles each cohort.
- Selective annual cohort enrollment across three career tracks
- The GRI framework: Grit, Resourcefulness, Intellectual Curiosity
- Track-specific academic floors, with rigorous screening for Investment Banking
- Recruited early enough to compete in financial services recruiting timelines
CoachesCompensated finance professionals who have held the roles Scholars are training for.
- Full-time and part-time coaches across the three Academies
- Direct industry experience in target career tracks
- A sustained relationship from Discovery through career launch
- Not volunteers: depth and consistency require compensation
Curriculum partnersExternal specialists who deliver track-specific technical instruction.
- An investment banking technical training partner
- Sales and Relationship Management core skills curriculum
- Fintech specialized tracks
- Capstone evaluation rubrics shared across Academies
Corporate partner networkActive financial services firms that hire Scholars and renew commitments.
- Investment banks, asset managers, trading firms, regional banks
- Industry associations and adjacent professional services firms
- Multi-year partnership agreements
- Partner foundations as institutional giving vehicles
Institutional infrastructureThe governance and systems that let the program scale without breaking.
- A governing board with meaningful skills coverage
- Documented operational playbooks across core functions
- Data infrastructure for outcomes, financials, and partner pipeline
- Successor-readiness frameworks for senior leadership roles
Activities
What the program does.
Evidence-based
Career discoveryPersonal and professional clarity before technical training.
- One-on-one coaching to align direction with strengths
- Industry exposure across financial services career paths
- An intentional career-direction commitment before training begins
- Sales and Relationship Management and Fintech Academies. Investment Banking requires upfront screening instead
Academy trainingTrack-specific technical preparation to industry standards.
- Investment Banking, trained to the hardest standard
- Sales and Relationship Management, a core skill set transferable across roles
- Fintech, specialized tracks via curriculum partners
- Capstone projects evaluated against working-professional rubrics
CoachingA sustained one-on-one relationship from Discovery through launch.
- Weekly or biweekly coach contact across the twelve months
- Assignment feedback in Investment Banking, small-cohort facilitation in the other two Academies
- Coaches deliver technical instruction alongside curriculum partners
Unwritten rules instructionExplicit teaching of professional norms and cultural fluency.
- Communication style and executive presence
- Networking conventions and relationship building
- Navigating feedback and managing up
- Workplace social register, and code-switching as a tool
Interview preparationRecruiting cycles begin 12 to 18 months before start dates.
- Mock technical interviews and live interviews with coaches
- Behavioral interview coaching and feedback loops
- Resume and outreach optimization
Internship interviewsCoaches support Scholars while they interview for junior-summer internships at financial services firms.
- Application strategy, interview coaching, and post-offer readiness
- Open-market applications validate competitiveness. No reserved slots
- Multi-firm offers track market position
- Coach support continues through onboarding
Career launch supportCoaching extends through full-time conversion and graduation.
- Return-offer conversion coaching after the summer internship
- Negotiation support on full-time offers
- Alumni network onboarding for ongoing support
Outputs
What the program produces.
Evidence-based
Scholars enrolledAnnual cohorts admitted across three Academies.
- A single integrated program across three specialized tracks
- Cohorts begin in sophomore year of college
- Selection through the GRI framework plus academic floors
- Multi-year applicant pipeline development
Scholars trainedScholars who complete Academy training.
- Track-specific technical fluency confirmed via capstones
- Unwritten-rules competency
- Interview-ready by the recruiting cycle
- Attrition concentrated in the first one to two months
Internships securedJunior-summer internships secured at financial services firms.
- Internships secured at partner firms, the primary route
- Internships secured via open-market applications, the validation
- Multi-offer rates as a market-competitiveness signal
- Internship-to-full-time conversion tracked per firm
Full-time roles securedCareer launch at competitive starting salaries.
- The high-trajectory definition: $60,000 or more, four-year degree required, real mobility upside
- Financial services as the primary destination, with industry-adjacent roles accepted
- Starting salary tracked against the roughly $50,000 first-year median for new graduates
- Non-partner-firm offers as the open-market signal
Network membershipThe alumni community as ongoing infrastructure.
- Cohort cross-connection across Academies and years
- Industry-side advocacy when alumni move firms
- A mentorship pipeline back to younger Scholars
- A donor base over the career arc
Short-term outcomes
What changes during and just after the program.
Evidence-based
- The hinge outcome
High-trajectory role attainmentCareer entry in a role that clears the high-trajectory bar, at a competitive starting salary. All downstream impact depends on this outcome.
- The role meets the high-trajectory definition: $60,000 or more, four-year degree required, real mobility upside
- Starting compensation at or above the high-trajectory floor
- Starting salary tracked against the roughly $50,000 first-year median for new graduates
- Compensation differential against the peer underemployment baseline
Demonstrated technical and professional fluencyWorking-professional competence confirmed through internships and at launch.
- Performance reviews during internships
- Return-offer rates from internship to full-time
- Employer and coach survey feedback on technical readiness
- Self-advocacy in performance and compensation conversations
- Workplace social register adopted without identity erosion
Career foundationStanding from which mobility can compound.
- Reputation with first-firm decision-makers
- Industry-network density that enables lateral movement
- A track record established at the first employer
- Self-reported confidence in career direction
Our causal contribution ends here. The rest is the Scholar's life.
Everything below is what the starting point makes possible, not what we claim to cause. We can measure career entry, starting salary, and employer quality. We cannot measure a forty-year trajectory, and we do not pretend to.
Medium-term outcomes
What unfolds in the years that follow.
Logic-based
Compounding income growthAn earnings trajectory consistent with Federal Reserve research on starting points.
- Year-over-year compensation growth
- Promotion velocity at or above the peer median
- Lateral moves with compensation step-ups
- Bonus and equity participation that scale with seniority
Career mobilityLateral and vertical movement consistent with high-trajectory peers.
- Promotion to associate and senior associate within standard timelines
- Optional moves to higher-leverage roles
- Industry-network strength that enables firm-to-firm transitions
- Geographic optionality enabled by industry recognition
Family support capacityEarnings-driven ability to support family financially.
- Direct financial support to parents and siblings
- Capital available for family medical, housing, or education needs
- A reduction in family financial precarity
- Self-reported relief in family-of-origin obligations
Alumni advocacyScholars become advocates for Greenwood Project inside their firms.
- Championing the partnership during firm budget cycles
- Referring subsequent Scholars
- Carrying that advocacy with them when they change firms
- Becoming donors as their careers progress
Long-term outcomes
What compounds over a career.
Logic-based
Sustained earnings trajectoryLifetime earnings consistent with the starting-point thesis.
- Lifetime compensation at the high-trajectory tier
- An earnings differential against the peer underemployment baseline measured in millions
- Senior-level role attainment
- Industry recognition at peer-leader level
Wealth accumulationCapital accumulation that begins to close the wealth gap at the individual scale.
- Retirement savings at or above peer levels
- Real-estate equity
- Investment portfolio capital
- Equity participation through partner and principal-level roles
Generational outcomes
What becomes possible across generations.
Assumption-based
Generational wealth transmissionCapital transferred to the next generation as inheritance and intergenerational support.
- Inheritance that closes the wealth gap at the family level
- Capital to fund children's education without debt burden
- Down-payment and entrepreneurship support for the next generation
- A family financial baseline that no longer requires support in reverse
Community-level mobilityA cohort-level effect on community wealth and opportunity.
- Capital and network deployed in support of younger Scholars
- Leadership roles in community, philanthropy, and civic life
- Reinvestment patterns toward home communities
- Aggregate cohort wealth as community-level economic infrastructure
How we measure
Career tracking. LinkedIn analytics, employer updates, and direct Scholar engagement. Outcomes measured at one year post-graduation and tracked beyond.
Employer feedback. Structured evaluations from internship hosts covering preparedness, performance, and specific coaching recommendations.
Coach evaluation. Weekly one-on-one contact means coaches assess skill development through direct observation rather than self-report.
Scholar feedback. Surveys, one-on-one debriefs, and exit interviews at program milestones.
Two indicators we track but do not publish. Scholars securing roles at firms with no Greenwood relationship is the cleanest test of whether preparation is the active ingredient, and we do not yet have enough longitudinal data to report a rate we would want anyone to anchor on. GP Connect relationship persistence is the second, and our volunteer-side matching has known gaps we are working on.
What it assumes
That the first job substantially determines career trajectory, and that intervening before the recruiting window closes produces more leverage than intervening after.
That preparation, not access through relationships, is the binding constraint for a prepared candidate.
That financial services specifically offers a compensation and mobility curve steep enough to justify sector focus.
That AI fluency will be a material differentiator for early-career professionals entering the market in 2029, though we are not seeing a material impact on Scholar outcomes today.
The reasoning behind the first three is set out in our theory of change.