Awarded Grants | Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy - Grants Page 5 Skip to main content

Ascendium Education Philanthropy is a division of Ascendium Education Group.

Awarded Grants

The grants we award advance our core strategies to Expand Opportunity, Support Learner Success, and Connect and Align Systems. They also promote field support and development efforts across strategies.

Upper Midwest Collaborative to Address Economic Imperatives

Michigan Community College Foundation|$3,080,000|8/2024 - 7/2027
This grant supports the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA) and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) in providing technical assistance to community colleges addressing economic development opportunities in the Upper Midwest region. Using a regional collaborative approach, MCCA and OACC will work with national partners to create targeted student success strategies to address workforce needs in the region.

Understanding How Incarcerated Learners Experience Developmental Education Reforms

Research for Action Inc|$1,050,000|2/2025 - 6/2027
This grant supports Research for Action in understanding the implications of developmental education reform on incarcerated learners' postsecondary opportunities and outcomes.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance in Postsecondary Education in Prison Programs

American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences|$4,685,300|7/2024 - 6/2027
This grant supports American Institutes for Research in launching an initiative focused on significantly growing the availability of high-quality best practice guidance for postsecondary education in prison programs. By leveraging the expertise of longstanding programs and supporting them in refining and sharing best practices, the initiative will establish quality standards and generate new resources for the broader field as it grows in response to the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated learners.

Mobile-Enabled Learning Supports in Co-Requisite Courses in Louisiana

University of Texas at Austin|$1,865,800|5/2024 - 4/2027
This grant supports the University of Texas at Austin in evaluating the impact of a tech-enabled instructional innovation that provides personalized academic supports for learners enrolled in co-requisite developmental education courses at nine Louisiana colleges.

EnGAge: Building and Mobilizing a Community of Practice for Higher Education in Prison in Georgia

Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison|$1,019,166|11/2023 - 1/2027
This grant supports the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison in convening stakeholders in Georgia to streamline and strengthen prison education across the state. In addition to increased state-wide cooperation, the project will result in the successful launch of two new postsecondary education in prison programs in facilities with high need and few current postsecondary offerings.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Emerson College|$324,200|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Emerson College in refining and packaging a suite of resources aimed at program implementation and continuous improvement. These resources contribute to the field by illustrating high-impact practices in program implementation and provide program benchmarks that other programs can adapt and replicate.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison Inc|$325,000|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, Inc., in refining, expanding, and packaging the Hudson Link Employer Toolkit. This toolkit contributes to the field by sharing guidance and resources related to Fair Chance hiring policies and practices that can be used by employers, reentry organizations, campus-based career services staff, colleges and universities, and programs to promote the successful reentry and workforce success of formerly incarcerated students and graduates.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Loyola University New Orleans|$325,000|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Loyola University in refining and packaging their data collection inventory tool to help define metrics and track the progress and success of incarcerated learners.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Pennsylvania State University|$324,875|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Pennsylvania State University in refining and packaging a Reentry Simulation Toolkit to support and drive culture change regarding the integration of incarcerated students back into communities post-release. This Reentry Simulation Toolkit will contribute to the field by raising awareness of common challenges and barriers experienced by formerly incarcerated students who are navigating reentry, and enabling critical discussions about the ways prison postsecondary programs and reentry providers can better promote the successful reentry, transfer, degree completion, and workforce success of students.

Identifying and Scaling Programmatic Technical Assistance Resources in Higher Education in Prison

Resilience Education|$325,000|12/2024 - 12/2026
This grant supports Resilience Education in refining and packaging its instructor training program to effectively prepare instructors to teach in carceral settings.