FLIP National

Chris Sinclair is the Executive Director of External Affairs for FLIP National. As Executive Director of External Affairs, Chris spearheads every aspect of building the organization. Chris is increasingly a prominent voice on the national level for FGLI student advocacy and support, sitting on panels and leading workshops on how to empower FGLI students to be better and more efficient advocates for themselves on their own campuses around the country. Chris graduated from the School of General Studies at Columbia University in 2018 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Business Management.  Chris was selected to be part of the first ever cohort of NYC fellows for the Community Fellows Program at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, which is based in Boston.

Only 11% of FGLI students will have a college degree within six years of enrolling in school, compared to 55% of their more advantaged non-FGLI peers. Without a college degree, a person will earn an average of $17,500 less per year than college graduates. To address this problem, FLIP National does advocacy work on behalf of FGLI college students nationwide. Many organizations focus on getting students to college, but FLIP National stands out by ensuring students’ access to the resources necessary to graduate. The long-lasting effects of income inequality impact families in numerous ways. FLIP National enables FGLI students to lift their families’ socioeconomic status, as well as further their own academic and professional goals. In doing so, the organization tirelessly combats the far-reaching effects of generational poverty and educational inequality, which are issues highlighted by the fact that 65% of all jobs will require postsecondary education.

There are currently more than 4.5 million FGLI students enrolled in postsecondary institutions, which accounts for approximately 24 percent of the overall undergraduate student population. Across the country, colleges and universities lack adequate institutional resources and support systems for FGLI students. This is largely because student perspectives are often left out of crucial conversations about how to address these issues, and in turn, it is difficult to create meaningful and sustainable solutions to combat common struggles they encounter. As a result, FGLI students often come together to build community and accrue resources to tackle previously unaddressed concerns. FGLI students have had to take this work up themselves because institutions have been slow to allocate resources to the needs of FGLI students on their campuses, in large part because they struggle to comprehend the FGLI student struggle. Since institutions have historically focused on other more conventional demographics, about 90% of FGLI students do not graduate within six years.

FLIP National aims to advocate on behalf of FGLI students and work with them to more effectively advocate for themselves on their campuses. We carry out our mission in three ways:

1. Building a community for first-generation and/or low-income (FGLI) students, alumni/ae, faculty, and administrators within and across institutions of higher learning

2. Crafting, implementing and/or expanding initiatives to address various target areas (e.g., food and housing insecurity, academic development, awareness and visibility, etc.) that affect the success and well-being of FGLI students in institutions of higher learning

3. Advocating for policy changes on a macro level to support FGLI students across the country (i.e., legislation, best practices, changes to university policy, etc.)

FLIP National’s core tenet is that we center student advocacy and the student voice by promoting the formation of dedicated FGLI student organizations that address the community’s issues. These student organizations become FLIP National chapters, which we work with to affect institutional change on their respective campuses. If successful, we aim to see a better quality of education for FGLI students, whether through increased graduation rates, GPAs, or post-collegiate opportunities.

FLIP National currently has 20 chapters in its first 5 years of existence, spanning public and private institutions of varying sizes, geographic regions, and commitments to financial aid. FLIP National’s long-term goal is to ensure FGLI students have all the tools and resources they need not to simply get to college, but to get through college and thrive. Since many institutions and pre-college programs focus on the process of getting students enrolled in college, there is a gap between the initial enrollment of FGLI students and the support systems they need to complete their undergraduate education. FLIP National addresses this gap, and its exponential growth as an organization is a testament to its impact on FGLI students. FLIP National engages with FGLI students at various FGLI student conferences and on various digital platforms to have conversations with them about their experiences on their campuses.  We speak with FGLI students about what resources are available to them, what resources they need, and how their schools are addressing their needs, if at all. We then work alongside our chapters to craft solutions to the issues that they have identified that can make life better for FGLI students on their campuses.

FGLI students are traditionally left behind because institutions have been historically designed for a certain demographic of people. As such, FGLI student issues are often not supported or considered in the framing of institutional support. The exclusion of FGLI students often leads to inequitable opportunities for FGLI students to complete their education, which in turn alleviates social stratification and improves socioeconomic mobility in society.  FLIP National believes that every student should have an equal and equitable opportunity to get a quality undergraduate education regardless of background or socioeconomic status, and we push institutions to ensure no one is left behind.

FLIP National was founded in 2015 by a group of students at Columbia University who were involved in student advocacy for FGLI students on Columbia's campus. This advocacy work was done through a student group called Columbia FLIP. Columbia FLIP was formed to create a space and support system for FGLI students on Columbia’s campus.  During its first year of existence, Columbia FLIP also started building resources and initiatives to address FGLI students’ needs that weren’t being addressed by the institution. The work of Columbia FLIP received international media attention during its first year of existence and sparked a national movement of FGLI students to build on the momentum that Columbia FLIP generated. FGLI students across the country were inspired by the work of Columbia FLIP and started to voice their frustrations about how institutions were failing to adequately support them and address their needs as FGLI students.  Some members of Columbia FLIP realized that they could help mobilize FGLI students across the country to push for change at their institutions just as Columbia FLIP did. FLIP National was formed to capitalize on this momentum and expand the advocacy work of Columbia FLIP to colleges and universities across the country.

I am passionate about this project and the FGLI student community not only because I belong to that community, but also because I have met some of the most wonderful people in this community.  When I first started this work as a student, the FGLI student community provided a space for me to feel like I belonged and surrounded me with people with whom I felt like I could be myself. While colleges have made efforts to be more diverse and inclusive with their recruiting, they have also imposed on so-called “diverse” students to assimilate to a campus environment that was not designed for them. I have both lived and witnessed these struggles and it weighs on me heavily that FGLI students have to endure the extreme experiences they endure just to survive in college.  I also have watched institutions repeatedly fail their FGLI students by deploying incrementalist measures to try to address issues that they are simply ill-equipped to deal with because they are too busy worrying about their public images.  I have a burning desire to do my part in helping FGLI students do something about all of that.

FLIP National is well-positioned to deliver this project because we are an organization that has been built by FGLI students and recent graduates from our inception.  As a result, we are uniquely suited to understand the plight of FGLI students because we can identify with their experiences better than other organizations and institutions that engage in this work.  FLIP National also has the ear of the students it serves because one of our core tenets is empowering FGLI students to be better and more effective advocates for themselves.  We give FGLI students the tools and support they need to harness power that they sometimes don’t realize they have to make positive change on their campuses.  Since our organization is borne out of engaging in advocacy work ourselves, we are uniquely positioned to help students across the country to push for the changes they want to see to make life better for FGLI students on their campuses. Historically, issues involving FGLI student support have been left to administrators to address.  However, the people who are in positions to implement the initiatives and resources that would help FGLI students succeed often lack the understanding of the FGLI experience and are unable to understand how the various struggles that FGLI students face affect their ability to perform academically.  FLIP National’s team has lived through that struggle, and because we are so familiar with that struggle, we are best positioned to craft solutions to alleviate that struggle.

The best example of my ability to overcome adversity is the story of why I returned to school.  My first college was UNC Chapel Hill, where I walked on the basketball team.  However, after an injury that effectively ended my basketball career, I had to leave UNC altogether because my father got laid off and my mother got sick. This necessitated my having to come home and work to support 2 households (my parents are divorced) until my parents could get back on their feet.  In addition, for years I struggled with feeling like I had failed and that I would never get the opportunity to realize my full potential because of that failure.  Even in the midst of that turmoil, I managed to find a way to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives by becoming a paralegal and fighting banks and mortgage companies to secure loan modifications on behalf of struggling homeowners that kept them in their homes during the height of the foreclosure crisis. Once I regained my confidence, I ultimately was able to return to school, earn my associate degree, transfer to Columbia University, and earn my bachelor’s degree while making lasting change on Columbia’s campus.

During my first year at Columbia University, I felt out of place on campus.  I struggled with feeling like I didn’t belong at a place like Columbia, and the environment on campus was so different from what I was used to.  It occurred to me that I couldn’t be the only student that felt this way, so I approached my academic advisor about building an academic resource that would take a more holistic approach to helping students acclimate to the campus environment.  This collaboration resulted in the creation of Academic Support Network, an academic resource I created and ran for its first 2 years of existence.  Academic Support Network has since evolved into a resource called Trajectory, an academic resource that still exists to this day.  Trajectory is a resource for students that have struggled at some point during their time at Columbia and need additional support to bounce back and improve their performance.  One of the first students that took advantage of this resource went on to become the salutatorian of this year’s graduating class.  So I was able to take my own struggle and turn it into something that can help everyone, not just me.

FLIP National is innovative because it implements a student-centered approach to address the issues that FGLI students face, whereas many other organizations do not. FLIP National tailors its mission and work to the student voice and encourages students to center their FGLI narratives in important conversations with peers, as well as their institutions’ administrations. Students know best what they need on their campuses, and their involvement is vital in crafting solutions to enhance their undergraduate experience. FLIP National also recognizes the adversarial nature of the relationship between student advocates and institutions.  Specifically, institutions are resistant to change and often employ tactics designed to preserve a status quo that benefits them. Institutions are often so focused on their desire to preserve a positive public image that they are reluctant to acknowledge the dire conditions under which FGLI students live on their campuses. Since FLIP National has had success creating changes at multiple institutions thus far, we have a good sense of how to circumvent the tactics that institutions employ to ensure that change can happen.  Our core thesis as an organization is that students know best what they need in order to be successful, and they not only should have a say in the resources that are created for them, but they should be driving the conversation about how best to address their needs.  The power of student voice is essential to contributing to conversations on college campuses about disrupting the traditional narratives that do not account for the FGLI experience.

We are financially constrained, as many of our working staff and fellows are unpaid, fueled by their commitment to supporting underserved communities and refusing to relent in their quest to ensure every FGLI student in America is adequately supported. To feed the exponential growth we have experienced over the past few years, we need to overcome funding obstacles and be able to support our diligent team. Our financial constraints also curtail our ability to invest in several initiatives that are highly sought after by our chapters. We also face cultural challenges when it comes to establishing a reliable, consistent and committed board of directors. We have had significant turnover in our board of directors, and as an organization operated by young FGLI alumni and current FGLI students, we are in need of mentorship and organizational expertise to support our ambitions and growth mindset. Finally, we will need to confront the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on colleges and universities. COVID-19 and the subsequent economic downturn has drained institutions of key revenue sources such as tuition. This in turn may impact financial aid for low-income students and administrative support for purchases such as textbooks. Moreover, as FGLI students are especially vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic, they will need extra support and resources to ensure on-time graduation and career readiness in the midst of an uncertain job market and success in academics. Our mission has never been more critical, despite the multitude of barriers we face.

To overcome our financial barriers, we are pursuing grant funding to expand the capacity of our growing organization. Moreover, we are working to design and sell FLIP National merchandise to establish a direct revenue source that both provides funding for our organization and marketable products for our chapters and their members. We are also currently in the process of recruiting a new board of directors through direct outreach by our staff, fellows, and community members. Through our existing partnerships with other organizations that support FGLI students, we have access to a strong pool of qualified board members. We hope to access training and other resources that can help us to leverage the talents of our board of directors so that they can be more effective and contribute more to our efforts to carry out our mission.  We will focus on working closely with our chapters to organize and advocate for FGLI students to promote relief, assistance and adequate resources that are in high demand due to the pandemic. In addition, we are actively learning from and collaborating with student groups at schools where FLIP National chapters do not yet exist to enhance our efforts and pave the way for future FLIP National chapter development. We are also creating a guide that outlines factors to consider in institutional decision-making related to COVID-19 in an effort to incorporate the FGLI student voice in the shaping of policy in higher education during these unprecedented times.

FLIP National is applying for The Elevate Prize because we want to take our mission to the next level.  We are passionate about amplifying the voices of those we serve and ensuring every FGLI student has access to the resources they need to flourish. FLIP National wants to be a part of their educational journeys and contribute to student success inside and outside of the classroom. With mentorship, coaching, and expanded student chapters, we would be able to realize our vision of a world of higher education in which FGLI students are able to fulfill their academic potential and achieve their career ambitions. As a nonprofit, we have a need to build capacity by leveraging an engaged board of directors, expanding our network, and developing strong management techniques to professionalize our organization.

The capacity building, close mentorship, and expanded opportunities for networking through the Elevate Prize Foundation would tremendously elevate our ability to promote the public good and help uplift FGLI student populations. Media and marketing of our efforts is another focus, and we would be able to effectively leverage our chapter partnerships and social media followings to amplify our work in coordination with the Global Hero campaign. The Elevate Prize will enable us to overcome financial and capacity constraints to accelerate our work to the next level.  In short, this prize would allow us to build an institution that allows FGLI students to pursue their passions and level the playing field of opportunity for FGLI students nationwide.

In a general sense, we would like to partner with organizations that can help us to address the 7 target areas that we focus on as an organization.  For example, publishing and technology companies (e.g. Apple, Dell, Microsoft, etc.) could assist us with our textbook and laptop lending libraries, respectively. Swipe Out Hunger and similar companies could help us develop anti-hunger programs. Apparel companies could aid us with our merchandise and our annual awareness and visibility campaign. Professional development companies could provide resources and training for our chapters and fellows. Airline companies such as JetBlue could cover conference travel expenses. One specific organization we hope to partner with is The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, a nonprofit organization committed to highlighting the needs of students around the country through research. Each year, it consistently conducts research to better understand the problems that students face and works to address them. This research and its consequent problem-solving approach is crucial to our mission at FLIP National. Since the Hope Center needs colleges and institutions, community organizations, and policymakers to conduct their evaluative research, in our partnership, we would aim to provide the Hope Center with these partners in the form of our chapters at colleges and universities. We would also hope to learn more about best research practices with the goal of self-sustainability in our own research using the example of the way in which the Hope Center compiles national statistics of and for FGLI students.