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Ascendium Education Philanthropy

OVERVIEW: The Ascendium Education Philanthropy aims to close the equity gap in postsecondary education and workforce training for underserved and marginalized students from low-income backgrounds.

IP TAKE: The Ascendium Education Philanthropy’s grants are “grounded in the belief that every individual has the potential to contribute meaningfully to their community and society.” Its grantees typically include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. that advance large-scale, systemic change.

This transparent funder prioritizes collaborative, supportive relationships with its grantees. Ascendium has an invitation-only grant application process and does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry or proposals. However, it does occasionally issue open requests for proposals on specific initiatives. Despite its closed application system, this is one funder for education organizations to keep on their radar.

PROFILE: Ascendium Education Philanthropy is the national philanthropic program of the Ascendium Educational Group, a student loan guarantor and philanthropic organization formerly known as the Great Lakes Education Group. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the organization seeks “to make education and training beyond high school a reality for learners from low- income backgrounds.” Ascendium’s four focus areas are removing systemic barriers to success, streamlining transitions, expanding higher education in prison, and developing rural education and workforce training. It does this through a three-pronged funding approach that recognizes initiatives need support at every stage of development to be successful:

  • Exploration grants focus on investigating innovative ideas via limited-term projects.
  • Validation grants focus on the rigorous evaluation of the most promising practices.
  • Scaling grants focus on adopting successful, evidence-based solutions.

Grants for College Readiness, Higher Education, and Workforce Training

To address the barriers learners from low-income backgrounds face — from insufficient opportunity to ineffective programs to disconnected systems — Ascendium supports organizations working to “create equitable opportunities for education and workforce training beyond high school.” Its focus areas include:

  • The Removing systemic barriers to success focus area supports nontraditional learners whose needs are not met by outdated educational systems and infrastructure, including through initiatives that invest in:
    • Creating more options for learners to engage in postsecondary education or workforce training that leads to living-wage employment in high-growth, high-demand fields.
    • Strengthening support networks and redesigning programs to help learners navigate and succeed in postsecondary education and workforce training.
  • The Streamline Key Learner Transitions focus area aims to streamline the transition to postsecondary education for first-time, transfer and re-entry students, as well as to workforce training and career opportunities after high school, including initiatives that:
    • Connect and align systems to ensure all learning counts toward credentials with labor market value and does not result in a dead end.
  • The Support Rural Postsecondary Education and Workforce Training focus area prioritizes initiatives that help individuals in rural communities receive postsecondary education and workforce training that aligns with local labor market needs and leads to well-paying jobs in their region. This includes initiatives that:
    • Cultivate a better understanding of rural learners and the postsecondary education and workforce pathways that best promote their upward mobility.
    • Encourage rural learners to persist in and complete their preferred learning path and experience workforce success.
    • Foster strategic partnerships between and among postsecondary providers, employers, and workforce training stakeholders.

Ascendium is a major funding partner of Blue Meridian Partners, and it has supported the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, American Indian College Fund, Ohio Department of Higher Education, The Council of Independent Colleges, Texas Community College Education Initiative, and New America Foundation, as well as a National Center for Inquiry and Improvement (NCII) initiative that supports rural students.

Learn about other Ascendium grantees through the searchable grants database on its All Grants page.

Grants for Criminal Justice Reform

Ascendium’s Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison focus area prioritizes initiatives that help individuals with a history of incarceration receive the postsecondary education and workforce training they need to successfully reenter the community and labor force. This includes initiatives that:

  • Develop a better understanding of incarcerated learners through data and research.
  • Forge strategic partnerships between postsecondary education institutions, correction systems, employers, and community-based organizations.
  • Implement, optimize, and replicate quality postsecondary education in prison models.

Current and recent grantees in this area include Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences, Tennessee Higher Education Initiative, and Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison.

Find more grantees via Ascendium’s searchable grants database on the All Grants page.

Grants for Journalism

Ascendium partners with media organizations to examine the complex challenges facing learners from low-income backgrounds and share the best ways to address those challenges. These partnerships draw attention to effective solutions, which extend their reach and allow them to be more widely adopted. The result is tangible, long-term change that improves postsecondary education and workforce training outcomes.

Other Grant Opportunities

Separate from its national philanthropy, the Ascendium Educational Group has a Community Giving grant program focused on the Madison, Wisconsin area. Initiatives in this program include:

  • Supporting Learners on Their Journeys
  • Removing Financial Barriers to Success
  • Educating the Next Generation of Public Policy Leaders

Important Grant Details

Ascendium awards multi-year grants to organizations across the U.S., with most grants ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. Annually, it awards over $100 million in grants, and it held around $2.6 billion in assets in a recent year.

Ascendium has an invitation-only grant application process and does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry or proposals.

Reach out with general inquiries or questions here.

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