ECMC Foundation Grants More Than $7 Million to Postsecondary Education Programs
May 25, 2018
By Mai P. Tran, ECMC Foundation
ECMC Foundation announced today that it has committed $7,122,893 to nine organizations, bringing its total 2018 grant commitments to approximately $15 million to date. These grants support grantees’ efforts ranging from piloting new initiatives, replicating programs with successful outcomes in new markets, evaluating existing programs and designing new systems and processes. These investments reflect the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to advancing postsecondary educational outcomes for students and individuals from underserved backgrounds across its College Success and Career Readiness portfolios.
A selection of grants made are listed below. For a full list of grants made by the Foundation please visit ECMC Foundation’s website at www.ecmcfoundation.org.
College Success Grants
- A grant of $650,000 was made to Beyond 12 (B12), a technology-based services nonprofit that aims to increase the number of low-income, first-generation, and historically underrepresented students who graduate from college. ECMC Foundation funding will support B12’s partnership with College Advising Corps, a college access program and past ECMC grantee, to design and pilot an integration of their models to serve 750 students who attend New York City public schools as they transition into and persist in higher education.
- A grant of $500,000 was made to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc. (CCFW), a social service provider focused on ending poverty for low-income families, serving tens of thousands of clients annually. ECMC Foundation funding will support the replication of a student support service program that keeps community college students on track to transfer by providing students with access to emergency financial aid and an advisor who helps them navigate academic pathways and overcome personal challenges.
- A grant of $600,000 was made to Complete College America (CCA), a national organization dedicated to eliminating achievement gaps in higher education. ECMC Foundation funding will support the permanent structural changes at participating institutions to increase student persistence and completion both within and across institutions in metropolitan areas.
Career Readiness Grants
- A grant of $499,978 was made to The Foundation for California Community Colleges, the official foundation that benefits, supports, and enhances the California Community Colleges. ECMC Foundation funding will support the design of the system’s new online college using information gleaned from adult learners, faculty expert engagement sessions, and student journey maps before the institution begins offering classes in September 2019.
- A grant of $385,000 was made to Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (Skills) a public-private partnership that works to match businesses that have current, unmet hiring needs with qualified, unemployed and underemployed job seekers. ECMC Foundation funding will support the pilot of a comprehensive career pathways program which combines employment, postsecondary education, mentorship, and additional supportive services as needed for adults between the ages of 18 to 29 who are residents of Chicago.
- A grant of $769,010 was made to Unloop, a nonprofit organization that enables people who have been in prison to succeed in careers in technology. ECMC Foundation funding will support the validation and scaling of a program that connects incarcerated individuals to college-level IT coursework, provides reentry support, and assists with job placement and/or the continuation of postsecondary education.