Long-Term Donors Creating Legacy Outcomes for First-Generation Students

Submitted by: Ednovate Charter Schools

At Ednovate, philanthropy is not only measured by a gift. It is measured by what that gift makes possible over time.

For more than a decade, Andy and Pam Horowitz and the Slavik Family Foundation have helped prove what sustained investment in first-generation students can do. They have served as mentors, connectors, advocates and friends, opening doors to the business community, raising needed funds, creating scholarship opportunities and helping grow schools designed to expand access for first-generation students. Their story with Ednovate spans more than 12 years and reflects the deepest promise of philanthropy: when donors invest in people, relationships and institutions over time, they can help change the trajectory of families for generations.

Andy and Pam Horowitz were instrumental in helping bring Ednovate to Orange County and supporting the success of Legacy College Prep. Since its founding in 2017, Legacy College Prep has served more than 1,300 students, creating a long-term pathway to college and opportunity for first-generation students and their families in Santa Ana and across Orange County. They understood early that Orange County families needed more high-quality public school options, especially schools designed to prepare first-generation college students for college, career and lives of purpose. They made a $2 million pledge to help Ednovate open four new schools in Orange County, expanding access to high-quality public education for first-generation college students and their families and they supported Ednovate not only with resources, but with belief, strategy and relationships.

Their role has been both visionary and practical. Andy and Pam helped Ednovate identify facilities, build community connections and raise the funds needed to open and grow schools. They connected Ednovate to the broader Orange County business and civic community, helping create relationships that would become essential to student opportunity and organizational growth. Through their introductions and advocacy, Ednovate has deepened connections with partners including the Orange County Business Council, CEO Leadership Alliance Orange County, Santa Ana College and others. By connecting Ednovate to Orange County’s business, civic and higher education leaders, Andy and Pam helped create the conditions for internships, career exploration and community partnership opportunities that expand what students can imagine for themselves.

They also helped bring the Slavik Family Foundation into the Ednovate community. Andy and Pam and the Slaviks lived in the same neighborhood, and their adult children grew up together. Because of that relationship, Andy and Pam were able to introduce the Slaviks to Ednovate’s mission and vision. What began through personal connection became a powerful philanthropic partnership rooted in shared values and a commitment to education equity.

Over the past 10 years, the Slavik Family Foundation has given $535,000 to Ednovate and, last year, made a $500,000 pledge to support the opening of new schools. Their generosity has helped Ednovate grow its ability to serve more students and families, particularly in Orange County. Together, donors like the Horowitzes and the Slavik Family Foundation have pledged more than $3 million to open new schools and ensure first-generation students in Orange County have access to quality education.
This is philanthropy as proof because the outcomes are visible.

At Legacy College Prep in Santa Ana, Ednovate students are preparing for college with the support of a school community built around high expectations and deep personal connection. Legacy has achieved 100% college acceptance for every graduating class since its first senior class in 2020. The Legacy Class of 2026 earned more than $14 million in scholarships. These results are not accidental. They are the product of strong schools, committed educators, family trust and long-term philanthropic investment.

For first-generation students, those outcomes can be life-changing. A college acceptance letter can open a door, but scholarships, mentorship, career exposure and strong advising help students walk through it. Philanthropic support helps ensure students are not left to navigate unfamiliar systems alone.

Andy and Pam have also made that commitment personal through the OC Education Diversity Fund, a scholarship fund for Legacy students that awards $5,000 to a student each year. This fund reflects a belief that individual students deserve direct investment in their futures. For the student who receives that scholarship, the impact is immediate and deeply meaningful. It can help close a financial gap, reduce stress for a family and affirm that their hard work and promise are seen.

Brandon, Legacy College Prep Class Of 2026 and an OC Education Diversity Fund recipient, described the scholarship as an investment in a future his family had worked for across generations. A first-generation college student raised by a single mother who immigrated to create greater opportunities for her children, Brandon will begin at Cal State Fullerton in Fall 2026, where he plans to study mechanical engineering. He hopes to build financial stability for his family and one day mentor younger students who, like him, are learning to see college as possible.

When a first-generation student receives support to attend college, a family’s story can change. Younger siblings see a new path. Parents gain experience navigating college and financial aid systems. Communities see students return as mentors, professionals, volunteers and leaders. The return on philanthropic investment is measured not only in scholarships earned or schools opened, but in the multigenerational change that follows.

That is why the Horowitzes’ and Slaviks’ long-term investment matters so much. They have supported Ednovate through the hard, practical and often unseen work that makes growth possible: finding facilities, building credibility, introducing partners, raising funds, championing the mission and staying committed over time. They have understood that opening new schools is not only about adding seats. It is about expanding access to opportunity for families who are choosing a different future for their children.

Andy and Pam Horowitz and the Slavik Family Foundation have allowed Ednovate to grow, evolve and deepen its impact in Orange County. It has helped connect students to college, careers and community. It has helped build schools where first-generation students are known, challenged and supported. And it has helped prove that when donors invest in education equity over time, the results can be measured in scholarships, college acceptances, new schools and changed family trajectories.

This is the legacy their giving makes possible.

It is the student, like Brandon, who becomes the first in their family to attend college, who dreams of building financial stability and mentoring younger students learning to see college as possible. It is the parent, like Brandon’s mother, who sees a future they once only hoped for become real. It is the business leader who meets an Ednovate student through an internship and sees the next generation of Orange County talent. It is the school that opens because donors believed families deserved more options. It is the scholarship that tells a student: your future is worthy of investment.

And as Ednovate continues to grow in Orange County, their legacy will continue through every student who walks into a new school, earns a college acceptance, receives a scholarship, explores a career and builds a future that once felt out of reach.