Awarded Grants | Ascendium’s Education Philanthropy - Grants Page 1 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.

Sectoral Training Evidence-Building Initiative

MDRC|$10,000,000|8/2024 - 9/2030
This grant supports MDRC in implementing a grantmaking initiative to build evidence on nonprofit-led sectoral training programs. The initiative will focus on identifying program elements and mechanisms needed to deliver and scale effective programs.

Advancing Postsecondary Competency-Based Education Pathways via Next-Generation Outcomes Research & Data

American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences|$2,949,600|11/2024 - 2/2030
This grant supports American Institutes for Research in evaluating the impact of competency-based education programs – degree programs designed around self-paced demonstration of specific competencies or skills – on learners’ completion outcomes and labor market success.

Coalition-Led Career Pathway Initiative Framework for Apprenticeship Expansion in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership Inc|$10,000,000|11/2024 - 10/2029
This grant supports the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership and Building Industry Group Skilled Trades Employment Program (WRTP|BIG STEP) in expanding apprenticeship pathways and creating training and resources across a variety of sectors to benefit learners from low income backgrounds and develop Wisconsin's future workforce.

Supporting the Wisconsin Tuition Promise 2025

Universities of Wisconsin System|$5,000,000|9/2024 - 8/2029
This grant supports the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) System in planning and launching a pilot of the Wisconsin Forward Pledge, an initiative combining financial, academic, and nonacademic supports for learners from low-income backgrounds to ensure their access, persistence, and success. As part of this initiative, the UW System will evaluate which components of support have the greatest impact on learner outcomes, helping to refine the impact and cost-effectiveness of the pledge initiative for future years.

Strengthening Statewide Capacity to Support Education and Reentry

The Minneapolis Community and Technical College Foundation Inc|$4,899,000|3/2025 - 2/2029
This grant supports Minneapolis Community and Technical College in partnering with Metropolitan State University to establish the Minnesota Center for Higher Education in Prison (MN-CHEP) and strengthen the Transformation and Reentry through Education and Community (TREC) initiative. MN-CHEP will serve as a hub for technical assistance to postsecondary education in prison programs in the Upper Midwest and the TREC initiative will connect degree-granting programs with reentry service providers supporting formerly incarcerated learners.

Fostering State Leadership for Rural Talent Development

Appalachian State University|$7,245,600|2/2025 - 1/2029
This grant supports the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges in helping five states develop and implement plans for improving rural talent development. Supported by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and HCM Strategists, state-level higher education leaders will work with rural-serving institutions and local communities to expand middle-skill, workforce-aligned pathways for rural learners statewide.

Assessing Employment Outcomes for Learners Participating in Postsecondary Education in Prison Programs

Strada Education Foundation Inc|$3,000,000|2/2025 - 1/2029
This grant supports Strada Institute for the Future of Work in studying the impacts of postsecondary education in prison programs on returning citizens’ employment and earnings outcomes. Examining a variety of programs in Ohio, the mixed-methods study will identify shared features of these programs that consistently yield favorable labor market outcomes for participants.

Tools of the Trade Evaluation

Mathematica Inc|$1,554,595|2/2024 - 1/2029
This grant supports Mathematica in conducting an evaluation that supports iterative program improvements of Tools of the Trade scholarship to maximize the difference the scholarship makes for Wisconsin apprentices seeking upward mobility.

Launching the New England Prison Higher Education Collaborative

New England Board of Higher Education|$6,762,442|2/2024 - 1/2029
This grant supports the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) in catalyzing collaboration across and within its six New England member states to increase the quantity and quality of postsecondary education offerings in prison. As the first regional prison education collaborative, NEBHE will serve as a convener, technical assistance provider, research hub, and funder for the participating states.

Support for Project QUEST and Per Scholas Evaluations

Economic Mobility Corporation|$375,000|1/2023 - 12/2028
This grant supports Economic Mobility Corporation in partnering with two well-established nonprofit sectoral training providers – Per Scholas and Project QUEST – to evaluate program impacts on low-income learners’ education and labor market outcomes and to identify key program factors associated with positive outcomes.