Everyone should have access to the opportunities they need to design the future they want. That core belief drives the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work around the world and in our home state of Washington, where we work at the local, regional, and state level.

Across the state, we focus on education, which we believe is essential to giving young people control over their own lives today and into the future. Nearly 90 percent of Washington’s high schoolers say they want to continue their education after high school, but only 50 percent enroll in apprenticeships or two-year and four-year degree programs after graduation.

Together with the local schools, colleges, and organizations that know their communities best, we believe we can help close that gap.

Our Washington State team works with partners to help students see a clear path to success after high school, with an emphasis on young people who face the highest barriers—including students from low-income and rural communities, and Black, Latino, and Indigenous students. Through all our work, we strive to listen to the needs, dreams, and perspectives of students and give them a say in decisions about education programs and policies.

This fact sheet details how the Gates Foundation partners with local organizations who know their communities best to understand how we can support on-the-ground efforts to improve the high school to postsecondary transition for students in their region. We launched two programs to support these locally led solutions: the Limitless Learning Network and our Horizons Regional Grants.