Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses (FDNH) was founded in 1965 when three settlement houses in Dorchester, Massachusetts came together to develop collaborative education, health, human and social services.  During its 45 year history, FDNH served thousands of children, youth and adults and invested millions of dollars in the Dorchester community. In 2008, FDNH adopted new mission and vision statements and solidified its organizational focus on high expectations and quality educational programs as a means of transforming the community.

Since that time, the organization has been recognized for the success of several programs:

• Early Education program was named a ‘model classroom’ by the Children’s Literacy Initiative for its work to improve reading, writing and oral language development in preschool children;
   
• English for Speakers of Other Languages’ program ranked #1 in Massachusetts for student gains in adult learner’s writing, speaking and listening skills;
   
• Art a la Carte was honored as one of the top 15 youth serving arts programs in the country with the prestigious Coming Up Taller Award, presented by the President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities.

In 2009, FDNH’s Board of Directors and senior management team worked with the Bridgespan Group to develop a strategic plan to more closely align  program offerings with the new mission. These projects pushed the organization to examine how it is perceived both internally and within the community and led to the conclusion that the organization must reposition itself within the community. FDNH is no longer based on a settlement house model; therefore it needs a name that is reflective of its place in history and the community.

The new name, College Bound Dorchester, reflects the organization's goal of ensuring that all students are on the path to college and is one of the final steps in the organization’s reincarnation.