Awarded Grants

This grant supports MDRC in engaging in a continuous cycle of rigorous research, active dissemination and hands-on technical assistance that builds the capacity of colleges and workforce training providers to improve outcomes for learners from low-income backgrounds.

This grant supports the Jesuit Prison Education Network (JPEN), a nationwide coalition of Jesuit colleges, in developing best practices and sharing resources to strengthen postsecondary education in prison programs across the network. JPEN and its research center, the Jesuit Social Research Institute, will strengthen the capacity of member programs to evaluate their programs and build capacity for continuous improvement.

This grant supports Per Scholas in bringing to scale their technology workforce training and professional development model to tens of thousands more learners and hundreds more employer partners throughout the U.S. Ascendium’s investment will support Per Scholas in their efforts to build new partnerships to better reach learners, deepen its bench of highly-qualified instructors and redesign its recruitment and admissions processes to be more learner friendly.

This grant supports the University Innovation Alliance in scaling Georgia State University’s Accelerator Academy program to 10 member institutions. The Accelerator Academy, comprising a suite of comprehensive interventions with demonstrated success, will allow institutions to target students at risk of falling behind or not completing a degree due to a D, F or W (Withdrawn) in critical coursework.

This grant supports WestEd in providing customized support to rural community colleges to help them improve institutional research and data use capabilities, and in the application of those capabilities for federal grant applications and institutional planning efforts. The grant will support up to 20 rural-located/serving institutions—including tribal colleges—and provide an additional 20 colleges with customized coaching.

This grant supports Reentry Campus Program in continuing to strengthen its core programming aimed at helping incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners identify a career path, gain college credit and complete degrees and certificates. The grant also supports their capacity to work with an external evaluator to define their unique program model and lay the groundwork for future evaluation.

This grant supports the National Skills Coalition in helping states implement policy and systems changes to create and/or strengthen partnerships between rural-based community colleges and industry. This effort will document how existing partnerships have impacted the postsecondary and workforce success of rural learners and provide targeted technical assistance and coaching to state agencies and workforce coalitions.

This grant supports Evaluation and Assessment Solutions for Education LLC in better understanding the impact of accelerated courses on the academic success of students from low-income and other non-traditional backgrounds.

This grant supports the Tennessee Board of Regents in partnering with Stanford University researchers to better understand the impact of accelerated courses on students from low-income and other non-traditional backgrounds.

This grant supports Social Strategy Associates, through the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, in providing backbone structure and planning support to launch funder collaboratives in two Ascendium strategic focus areas: Rural Postsecondary Education & Workforce Training and Postsecondary Education in Prison. The grantee will provide logistical and strategic support to Ascendium and peer funders in developing agendas for collaboration and identifying shared priorities and opportunities for aligned funding.