November 4, 2015 | by Lisa Mattson

John Jordan recently received the 10,000 Degrees Sonoma County Founders Award for his leadership, generosity and vision at The John Jordan Foundation.

More than 200 guests turned out for the special gala event on October 22, which featured live entertainment, the awards ceremony, dinner and a live auction. The evening was hosted at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates & Gardens and featured wines and food by the Kendall-Jackson culinary staff.

Founded in neighboring Marin County in 1981, 10,000 Degrees is a non-profit organization whose mission is to achieve educational equity by supporting students with need, giving them access to complete higher education and to positively impact their communities and the world. With its expansion into Sonoma County about five years ago, the charity now serves 4,500 students in the North Bay and awarded $2.8 million in scholarships in 2015. Because the organization also helps its students leverage approximately $16-18 million in additional free financial aid, those students incur only about $1,000 in loan debt each year compared to the national average of almost $7,000.

The John Jordan Foundation pledged a multi-year investment of $250,000 to fund much needed scholarships for 10,000 Degrees students in Sonoma County.