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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.

Regional Upskilling Alliance - Planning Period

Field Development
Strada Collaborative LLC|$50,000|11/2022 - 10/2023
This grant supports the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in coordinating the development of the Regional Upskilling Alliance, an innovative approach to developing sustainable connective structure that more effectively supports low-wage and unemployed adults in obtaining new skills and communicating them to employers in order to access thriving wage career opportunities.

Special Report: Modernizing Federal Policy to Serve Today’s Students

Field Development
Inside Higher Ed Inc|$50,000|7/2023 - 10/2023
This grant supports Inside Higher Education in producing a special report: Modernizing Federal Policy to Serve Today's Students. The report will include an in-depth analysis of the impact of state and federal postsecondary education policy on working learners, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, and highlight opportunities for federal policy to be modernized to better meet the needs of today’s learners.

2022 Rural Matters Podcast

Field Development
Michael Levin-Epstein|$20,000|9/2022 - 8/2023
This grant supports Michael Levin-Epstein in producing a four-part podcast series focused on postsecondary education and workforce training in rural communities on the Rural Matters podcast.

Analyzing Public Comments for Proposed Rulemaking on Prison Higher Education and Pell

Field Development
University of Utah|$50,000|12/2022 - 8/2023
This grant supports the Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison at the University of Utah in analyzing and synthesizing the public comments submitted in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the expansion of Pell Grants for incarcerated students. This analysis will support Ascendium, the Research Collaborative and others in identifying salient field concerns and questions regarding the reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated learners in July 2023.

CompetencyXchange Task Force

Field Development
Competency-Based Education Network|$50,000|10/2022 - 7/2023
This grant supports the Competency Based Education Network in developing a comprehensive agenda to scale implementation of competency-based education across the nation by engaging a coalition of key stakeholders in planning.

Reporting of Postsecondary Education

Field Development
The Hechinger Report|$220,000|7/2021 - 6/2023
This grant supports The Hechinger Report in exposing the challenges and elevating possible solutions to problems facing our postsecondary education system.
View All Ascendium Grants