Ascendium Education Group

The Promise of a Better Future

We focus on giving learners from low-income backgrounds more opportunities to succeed by working with partners to improve learning and training systems.

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Our Focus Areas

We know learners from low-income backgrounds have the same abilities as high-income learners. Ascendium is working to change postsecondary and workforce training systems so that low-income learners have the same opportunities for academic and career success. To that end, we award exploration, validation and scaling grants in four focus areas that foster upward social mobility.

THE CHANGE WE SEEK

We hope our work contributes to a future where more learners from low-income backgrounds achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training.

Postsecondary education and workforce training are the surest paths to a good job. Unfortunately, the very groups that could benefit the most from these opportunities have historically been underrepresented, and learners who do have access are less likely than their peers to complete their program and gain a degree, certificate, or credential of value.

We believe our systems are to blame for these outcomes, not learners. That’s why our philanthropy targets the root causes of the barriers learners encounter as they pursue education or training after high school. All of our grantmaking is driven by our mission: to ensure that more learners from low-income backgrounds — especially first-generation students, incarcerated adults, rural community members, students of color, and veterans — can reap the benefits of postsecondary education and workforce training to achieve upward mobility.

News and updates

May 18, 2023 Newsletter

Meet Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Learn How Rural Community Colleges Are Helping Learners, and More

Introducing Our New Program Officer for Strategic Engagement, Amy Kuether
Rural Community Colleges Utilize Strengths and Assets to Improve Learner Success
Perspectives from the Field: Community Colleges Connect Learners to Credentials that Meet Local Workforce Needs

April 20, 2023 Newsletter

Lifting Up Postsecondary Education in Prison During Second Chance Month and More

It’s Time to Change the Way We Think About Incarcerated Learners
Three Takeaways from RAND Corporation’s Report: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Prison Education
Record Number of Wisconsin Apprentices Receive Tools of the Trade Scholarships

April 13, 2023 News Release

Ascendium Releases 2022 Education Philanthropy Report: Meeting the Moment

Ascendium Education Group has released its 2022 Education Philanthropy report, Meeting the Moment. The report tells the story of Ascendium's philanthropy during 2022 as we provided $122 million in new grants to meet the challenges created and compounded by our changing world.