Catalino Tapia Scholarship Foundation

The Catalino Tapia Scholarship Foundation (CTSF), previously known as the Bay Area Gardeners  Area Gardeners Scholarship Foundation, was founded over 20 years ago by Catalino Tapia. In 1999, while attending his son Noel's law school graduation at UC Berkeley, Mr. Tapia anticipated a heartwarming experience. However, his emotions changed when he witnessed only a few students of color crossing the graduation stage. This deeply affected him, inspiring his commitment to sow more seeds for the future and to cultivate future leaders.

CTSF's mission is to offer a path to uplift economically disadvantaged students and, through higher education, enable them to attain enhanced racial and economic mobility within their communities and society. In 2006, the foundation offered its first five scholarships. As of today, the foundation has offered 421 scholarships to students in Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Alameda Counties. 

In 2020, the foundation introduced new programs. Since then, CTSF has provided over 40 hours of interactive workshops and 55+ mentors to low-income, first-generation, and scholars of color. In 2022, an additional 14 hours of interactive workshops were made available to parents.