All Grants

This grant supports Jobs for the Future Inc (JFF) in leading Ascendium’s Ready for Pell initiative, including identifying and selecting high-capacity postsecondary education providers; surfacing and disseminating best practices; and providing technical assistance to enable institutions to implement best practices. JFF will also manage the third-party evaluation and share lessons from the initiative to inform efforts to scale access to Pell in prison settings.

This grant supports Coleridge Initiative in developing and launching a data use challenge and call for proposals to solicit data-driven ideas that inform education and workforce transitions. Ascendium will select individual data challenge projects to support from a set of proposals submitted by Coleridge Initiative during the grant period. The selected projects will link education and workforce data, provide states the relevant data analysis capacity to answer critical questions about student progression and inform evidence-based policies and practices that support learners from low-income backgrounds.

This grant supports the National Prison Debate League in exploring the potential to provide course credits in partnership with postsecondary institutions, and/or develop a stand-alone certificate, so that incarcerated learners receive credit for their participation in this valuable learning and enrichment program.

This grant supports the Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives Foundation in working with up to 12 rural chambers of commerce to learn how to bring local community partners together to provide rural learners and workers from low-income backgrounds with the training needed to access well-paying, high-demand jobs.

This grant supports a cohort of organizations in designing, implementing and/or expanding high-quality postsecondary education or workforce training leading to good jobs for immigrants, migrants and refugees from low-income backgrounds in rural communities. Selected organizations will also join a learning community focused on identifying promising strategies and addressing barriers to help strengthen outcomes.

This grant supports Achieving the Dream in partnering with Jobs for the Future to help nine community colleges across three states identify and implement practices and policies that drive adult learner success. Complementary capacity building for state system offices will help ensure alignment of policy to effective practice and support cross-state learning.

This grant supports the Education Justice Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in refining and distributing resources that help incarcerated learners transition from prison classrooms to free-world campuses and meaningful employment.

This grant supports Apprenticeships for America in creating the first national network of apprenticeship intermediaries in the United States and developing research to support the role of intermediaries with the goal of expanding apprenticeship opportunities nationwide.

This grant supports the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in providing technical support to financial aid offices preparing for the return of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated learners.

This grant supports the Education Writers Association in increasing the quality and volume of national postsecondary education media coverage by hosting a national seminar, developing online resources, and providing micro-fellowships to new journalists working on stories that highlight solutions to support learners from low-income backgrounds.