About Pactinc
Our History
Founded during the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s, the Plan of Action for Challenging Times, now known as PACT, Inc., has grown and adapted to meet emerging needs across the Bay Area. The community-based non-profit organization helps young people achieve upward mobility by guiding them toward education and training opportunities and ensuring they are prepared to take advantage of them.
In 1963 it became very clear to local activists Everett Brandon, JD, and Henry Lucas, Jr. DDS that San Francisco needed a “plan of action for challenging times.” Working together with others in the Civil Rights Movement, they began the process of changing the lives of African American youth across the City. They initiated one of the first federal Department of Education Talent Search programs on the West Coast. They increased the number of African American high school students prepared to enter and graduate from college. The young people participating in PACT, Inc. programs were prepared and qualified to take advantage of careers that were beginning to open to African Americans. They became the professionals who today provide leadership across the Bay Area and the nation.
Since 1965 PACT has provided free support to underserved students and students of color in Bay Area school districts. With 20,000 college-graduated Alumni, PACT has a demonstrated history of advancing equity and serving Bay Area low-income and minority students for nearly 60 years. PACT has received the Federal TRiO Educational Talent Search Program: from 1965 to 2016 in San Francisco and from 2002 to the present day in Richmond and Vallejo. Additionally, since 2017, PACT has extended its programs to Vacaville under the Federal TRiO Upward Bound grant.
PACT advisors, tutors, and mentors prepare students for college and the workforce by providing college navigation and application support; financial aid and scholarship advising, tutoring, and mentoring; and enrichment exposure activities. PACT educates and supports low-income middle and high school students empowering them to realize the dream of a brighter educational and financial future.
Our Mission
Plan of Action for Challenging Times (PACT), Inc. promotes community empowerment by increasing access to higher education for low-income youth and young adults by positively impacting graduation, drop-out, and college-going rates.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide the best educational services and the best advice, the best place to work, and the best work environment for educating, inspiring, and motivating others.
Our Values
Our values statement is our guide to the individual and organizational behavior that we desire to achieve.