ECMC Foundation Grants More Than $6.8 Million to Postsecondary Education Programs
August 22, 2019
By Mai P. Tran, ECMC Foundation
ECMC Foundation announced today that it has committed $6,807,859 to 11 organizations, bringing the 2019 grant commitments to approximately $26 million to date. These grants and investments support grantees’ efforts ranging from evaluating best practices, addressing basic needs insecurity, supporting national training and closing equity gaps in degree attainment.
These investments reflect the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to advancing postsecondary educational outcomes for students and individuals from underserved backgrounds across its College Success, Career Readiness, Program Related Investments and special opportunity grants.
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 https://www.ecmcfoundation.org/what-we-do/grantsinvestments.
College Success
- A grant of $300,000 was made to Claremont Graduate University to support the Pomona Regional Learning Collaborative (RLC). ECMC Foundation’s funding will help RLC engage member campuses in the Pomona region to develop partnerships, policies, and practices that strengthen transfer culture, handoffs, and advising for students. The goal is to increase two-year to four-year transfer across four participating campuses.
- A grant of $506,600 was made to Partnership for College Completion (PCC), a nonprofit organization focused on closing the equity gap in degree completion in the Chicago area for low-income students and students of color. ECMC Foundation funding will initiate the implementation phase of the Illinois Equity in Attainment initiative. The goal is to eliminate racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps across 29 colleges and universities by 2025.
- A grant of $361,392 was made to the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation (VCUF), which functions as the charitable foundation to assist, support and foster Virginia Commonwealth University’s community. ECMC Foundation funding will support the development of research to gather in-depth data on the mental health challenges and needs of community college students. The goal is to help two- and four-year institutions, higher education governing boards and legislators in reducing mental health barriers to degree attainment among first-generation, underserved students in Virginia.
Career Readiness
- A grant of $647,166 was made to Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), which focuses on increasing the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential. ECMC Foundation funding will help THEC expand partnerships to provide wraparound support via public benefits to adult learners. The goal is to provide more Tennesseans with the support necessary to enroll and persist toward a credential.
- A grant of $2,050,314 was made to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WW), which focuses on addressing the nation’s critical challenges in education. ECMC Foundation funding will help WW recruit and support four cohorts of journalism fellows focused on postsecondary career and technical education (CTE). The goal is to increase the number of journalists equipped with tools and networks to provide more comprehensive coverage of postsecondary education, particularly CTE.
- A grant of $481,143 was made to Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, which serves nearly 30,000 students annually and offers 267 certificate and degree programs. ECMC Foundation funding will help Sinclair create an accelerated part-time associate degree program. The goal is to help part-time students earn their associate degree within a 36-month timeframe.
Special Opportunities
- A grant of $250,000 was made to All-In Milwaukee (AIM), a coordinated collaboration that provides comprehensive support to low-income students in Milwaukee including maximized financial aid, customized advising and career readiness. ECMC Foundation funding will help launch the AIM program in the fall 2019. The goal is to enroll 40 scholars in their inaugural cohort and to reach 200 total scholars by 2023.