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Ascendium Education Philanthropy is a division of Ascendium Education Group.

Media Partnerships

Our philanthropy amplifies important information across the nation, helping good ideas become systemic change for learners from low-income backgrounds.

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WHY MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS?

High-quality reporting and storytelling are vital for investigating, proposing, and disseminating systemic solutions to challenges faced by learners from low-income backgrounds. When media highlight problems alongside evidence-based solutions, successful practices have the potential to scale up. Media amplification can also encourage individual policymakers, communities, and government agencies to address critical issues in improving postsecondary education and workforce training outcomes. By framing and amplifying the issues critical to improving postsecondary education and workforce training outcomes, media partners get important information in front of those who can advocate for and make real, systemic change.

Learn more about how our media partnerships support learners from low-income backgrounds.

Creating Enabling Conditions for Adult Reskilling in Rural America through Narrative

Field Development
New York University|$327,100|7/2024 - 6/2026
This grant supports New York University’s Marron Institute in producing national reporting, communications, and a multimedia web project to raise the profile of rural workers and educational pathways in Appalachia. The project will highlight strategies to help more rural low-income workers in the region, and in other rural regions, to complete postsecondary education and workforce training programs aligned to local economies.

Supporting the Reimagine Rural Podcast

Field Development
The Brookings Institution|$250,000|6/2025 - 5/2026
This grant supports the Reimagining Rural Policy initiative at the Brookings Institution in producing its third season of the Reiminagining Rural podcast. The podcast explores how strategic public investment in rural communities can spur innovation and development, including the ways in which postsecondary education and workforce training are core to opportunity for rural learners.

Building & Applying Strong Evidence About Postsecondary Success & Economic Mobility

Field Development
MDRC|$7,500,000|12/2022 - 5/2026
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.

Beyond the College Walls: Principles and Partnerships for the Next Community College Decade

Field Development
Achieving the Dream Inc|$50,000|6/2025 - 5/2026
This grant supports Achieving the Dream in sponsoring the publication of a new edited collection from Harvard Education Press that outlines key elements of community college reform required for those institutions to meet the needs of today’s and future learners.

Documenting Opportunities for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Learners

Field Development
Strada Collaborative LLC|$700,000|2/2024 - 4/2026
This grant supports Roadtrip Nation in producing a documentary film and additional video assets that showcase the voices and experiences of justice-impacted individuals who participated in postsecondary education opportunities while incarcerated. The documentary aims to build awareness about the positive impact of access to postsecondary education in prison and help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners see the relevance of postsecondary education to their life and career goals.

Prevalence of Lived Experience in Leadership Positions

Field Development
The Urban Institute |$100,000|9/2024 - 3/2026
This grant supports Urban Institute in understanding the prevalence of lived experiences in or adjacent to the criminal justice system, including personal history of incarceration, among nonprofit organizational leaders. The project will identify best practices and develop data collection tools funders can use to understand the extent to which their grantees are led by individuals with relevant lived experience.
View All Ascendium Grants