Support the Mission

Every dollar preparesanother Leader.

Leadership Brainery is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Since 2018 we’ve raised $4M+ to invest directly in 1,300+ students pursuing Master’s and Doctoral degrees at top programs.

We believe leadership potential exists in every community, but access to graduate education, influential networks, and the opportunities that shape careers, income, and generational wealth does not.

Click here to read alumni success stories

of LB’s students are low-income

are the first in their families to attend higher education

of LB’s students are leaders in their communities

Where it goes

Your Donation Funds LB’s Growth

Through 2029, our strategic priorities center on one North Star and two Guiding Pillars that reflect both who we are and where we’re headed.

Our North Star: We believe all communities deserve and have the right to equal opportunities to create and use generational prosperity for themselves, their families, and society. Advanced education and thriving careers are a primary gateway to achieving this reality.

The Leadership Brainery Ambassador Fellowship is a competitive, graduate school-readiness program that helps high-achieving college students and recent graduates with limited access to Master’s and Doctoral degrees successfully apply.

Over eight months, Ambassadors participate in a hybrid experience that includes admissions coaching, test preparation, application support, and cohort-based learning — designed to move Ambassadors from aspiration to application, and into graduate school.

35 Ambassadors · 7 per industry

Health & Medicine
Law & Policy
Business & Finance
STEM
Education & Humanities

5 Phases

Graduate School Summit
Strategic Research & Pathways
Test Preparation
Admissions Coaching
Graduate Enrollment & Alumni Support

Learn more

Share What We Know provides students across the country with a digital resource library and alignment tools, ensuring those beyond the Fellowship can benefit from LB’s graduate admissions insight.

This pillar also includes our research and policy work that seeks to inform the public nationally about higher education access and changes in education policy. LB has reached nearly 100k+ readers from our op-eds and publications over the last year.

Learn more

More than 60% of Leadership Brainery’s annual funding comes from individual supporters like YOU!

People62.5%
Foundations31.3%
Corporations6.3%

Fiscal Year 2026, July 2025 - June 2026

Gratitude from our students

This is what your gift means to our students.

Before [LB’s programs], I had lost my interest in attending graduate school due to the difficulty. But after participating, I feel like I really can do it, especially with all these amazing people who have done it and who are willing to support me.

Leadership Brainery Ambassador

Why it matters

All roads lead to graduate school.

60%
of business & government leaders hold graduate degrees
And 85% of top state executive leaders hold advanced degrees. Leadership increasingly runs through graduate school.
1 in 6
jobs now expect a graduate degree
Graduate degrees are no longer niche or exclusively elite — they are becoming a standard entry requirement.
+68%
projected growth by 2031
Employment of graduates with advanced degrees in managerial and professional occupations is projected to grow 68% by 2031.
+143%
Master's attainment, 2000–2020
Yet the economy keeps absorbing this talent — market demand for high-skilled labor is outpacing supply.
$0
federal grant aid for graduate school
Undergraduates have 7M+ Pell Grant recipients. For graduate school, federal grant aid is zero.
$15–30K
annual funding gap · OBBBA, July 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminates Grad PLUS loans and caps borrowing, forcing students without family wealth into high-interest private debt.