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EDUCATION PHILANTHROPY DIVISION OF ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP

All Grants

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Aligning Employment and Education Systems for the Success of Low-Income Working Adult Learners: The Achieve Your Degree Program

Validation
The RAND Corporation|$647,100|10/2022 - 9/2025
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in studying the design and outcomes of Ivy Tech Community College's statewide Achieve Your Degree program, which helps working learners earn skills needed to advance in their jobs through employer tuition assistance and dedicated academic and non-academic supports.

Leveraging NCAN Members to Increase Success for Incarcerated Learners

Exploration
National College Attainment Network|$630,000|10/2023 - 9/2025
This grant supports the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) in developing technical assistance for its members tailored to postsecondary education in prison. With its support, more NCAN members will partner with postsecondary education in prison programs to deliver supportive services to incarcerated learners.

Non-Credit Mobility Academy

Exploration
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association|$750,000|9/2023 - 8/2025
This grant supports the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association in supporting four to six states to strengthen policy and data infrastructure around non-credit postsecondary education. Participating states will work to ensure that learners have access to high-quality non-credit postsecondary training, and that clear pathways exist from that training into credit-bearing credentials in fields where those are required qualifications for high-demand jobs.

Scaling IT Support and Data Analytics Certificate Programming for Learners from Low-Income Backgrounds

Scaling
Merit America|$10,000,000|9/2022 - 8/2025
This grant supports Merit America in its goal to help 20,000 learners move from low-wage jobs to in-demand technology careers over the next three years. This investment will enable Merit America to scale their operations and leverage up to $45 million in funding from the $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund.

Launching Civic Sector Apprenticeships in Rural Communities

Exploration
The Council of State Governments|$693,800|9/2022 - 8/2025
This grant supports the Council of State Governments and the Urban Institute in working with state and local governments and public sector employers in Maine and Idaho to implement apprenticeship programs targeted to learners from low-income backgrounds. New apprenticeships will provide paid training and onramps to good civic sector jobs that are currently experiencing a shortage of qualified workers in rural communities.

Enhancing and Expanding the Transfer Explorer Tool

Scaling
Ithaka Harbors Inc|$1,716,350|9/2022 - 8/2025
This grant supports Ithaka Harbors in enhancing and expanding the Transfer Explorer tool so that more transfer students have prior credits applied to a four-year degree, leading to reduced cost, reduced time-to-degree and a greater chance of completion.

Formerly Incarcerated Leaders Fellowship

Other
Rockwood Leadership Institute|$938,239|8/2023 - 8/2025
This grant supports Rockwood Leadership Institute in developing and piloting a professional learning cohort for formerly incarcerated leaders working within the field of postsecondary education in prison.

Implementing an Evaluability Assessment

Exploration
Reentry Campus Program|$250,000|12/2022 - 8/2025
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.

Connected Pathways for Tribal Colleges and Universities

Exploration
Wakiya Foundation Inc|$1,045,000|10/2022 - 7/2025
This grant supports the Wakiya Foundation in piloting the development of new, career-aligned bachelor’s degree programs at three tribal colleges in Montana. In partnership with the tribal college leaders and Western Governors University (WGU), Wakiya Foundation will lead a process of using labor market data to identify in-demand jobs for which no postsecondary education programs currently exist for tribal learners, and to fill those gaps through offerings delivered jointly by the tribal colleges and WGU.

Examining Student Loss at Community Colleges

Exploration
The RAND Corporation|$560,400|2/2023 - 7/2025
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in partnering with Dallas College to address early student attrition. The partners will examine institutional data, student experiences and campus-level practices to share insights with the field about students who leave prior to colleges' official enrollment count and how community colleges can help retain them.