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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

All Grants

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On the Path to a Degree (OnPath)

Scaling
MDRC|$570,300|12/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports MDRC in providing technical assistance to five institutions within a state community college system and five other minority-serving community colleges to assess and develop communications plans that will improve persistence and degree completion rates for students from low-income backgrounds.

Scaling Community College Baccalaureates in a Changing Landscape

Validation
New America Foundation|$300,000|12/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports the New America Foundation in examining the role that community college baccalaureates play in meeting employer demand for degrees, as well as demand for affordable bachelors degrees for low-income and rural communities.

Maintain Momentum: Supporting Postsecondary Education Membership Organizations and Networks

Scaling
Wisconsin Technical College System|$150,000|11/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports the Wisconsin Technical College System and its members in continuing to advance student success reforms despite COVID-19-related impacts.

Understanding Barriers to Refiling the FAFSA

Exploration
MDRC|$50,000|12/2021 - 12/2022
This grant supports MDRC in gaining an understanding of the reasons students in good academic standing who return to college do not refile the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The research will seek to quantify the impact the decision not to refile has on student retention.

Supporting Rural Colleges in Competitive Federal Grant Opportunities

Exploration
WestEd|$50,000|4/2022 - 12/2022
This grant supports WestEd in conducting a series of virtual workshops for teams from approximately 30 rural community colleges to assist them in preparing applications for the Strengthening Community College Training Grants funding opportunity announced by the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Chalkbeat Higher Education Coverage in Colorado and Indiana

Scaling
Chalkbeat Inc|$50,000|7/2022 - 12/2022
This grant supports Chalkbeat in expanding its already highly regarded K-12 reporting to cover challenges facing the postsecondary education system and to elevate possible solutions, starting in Colorado and Indiana.

Development of a Comprehensive Transfer Blueprint

Exploration
Kent State University Foundation Inc|$855,526|7/2019 - 12/2022
This grant supports Kent State University in developing transfer pathways with three partner community colleges that streamline student progress to a degree.

Institutional Transformation in Puerto Rico: Lessons Learned in Resiliency

Validation
Excelencia in Education Inc|$399,700|10/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports Excelencia in Education in identifying strategies that can support institutional resiliency and promote student success for rural, Latinx learners in the midst of natural disasters and crises. Excelencia will engage rural postsecondary institutions in Puerto Rico, which has experienced multiple natural disasters in recent years, and develop a report and accompanying case studies highlighting lessons learned in supporting access, retention and success for rural learners.

Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance

Scaling
Midwestern Higher Education Compact|$1,280,400|12/2020 - 12/2022
This grant supports the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and Credential Engine in developing the Midwest Credential Transparency Alliance. Intensive work in five states and regional coordination across the 12-state region will contribute to significantly expanding the public repository of detailed, accurate information about postsecondary credentials available to learners, employers, schools and state agencies.

Equity Transfer Initiative

Exploration
American Association of Community Colleges|$974,680|10/2020 - 11/2022
This grant supports the American Association of Community Colleges in increasing equitable student transfer outcomes. In partnership with the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Equity Transfer Initiative will provide direct coaching, technical assistance and ongoing support to selected pairs of two- and four-year institutions as they develop new transfer pathways for degrees leading to high-demand careers.