As part of our commitment to improving higher education for career success among underserved populations through evidence-based innovation, ECMC Foundation is proud to announce a new series of grants and investments made from March 23 to May 23, 2023. This round of recently approved grants and investments aims to promote work-based learning, spur professional and leadership development, and deploy innovative funding in line with our strategic framework. The total funding is $4,850,002.

A selection of grants and investments made are detailed below. For a full list of the Foundation’s active and inactive grants, please visit ECMC Foundation’s website at https://ecmcfoundation.org/grants/grants-investments.

Alabama Possible ($500,000) to support the newly established Predominantly Black Community College/Historically Black Community College (PBCC/HBCC) Network in impacting policies and practices that advance student success outcomes in Alabama.

Postsecondary National Policy Institute ($200,002) to develop and promote the Congressional and State Higher Education Explorer data tool, which will provide key postsecondary data points for congressional and state-level stakeholders.

SeaChange Capital Partners ($1,500,000) to continue the Transformational Partnerships Fund, which provides postsecondary leaders with opportunities to explore and form long-term strategic partnerships that enhance their institutions’ abilities to provide materially better outcomes for their students.

The ASME Foundation, Inc. ($800,000) to expand the Accelerating Engineering Pathways for CTE Students in a COVID-Changed World program to 15 new community colleges (including five minority-serving institutions) and help implement and evaluate STEM-focused work-based learning programs and professional networks for underserved student demographics.

University of California, Davis ($600,000) to establish the Advancing Leaders Institute (ALI), a cohort of equity-focused California community college leaders who are more representative of the populations of students they serve.

Women Employed ($750,000) to help 10 Illinois community colleges scale developmental education reform models with aligned racial equity plans to improve postsecondary outcomes for students.

Education Innovation Ventures

Pursuit Transformation Benefit Corporation, Inc. ($500,000) to train, place and support low-income individuals in high-quality tech careers through the Pursuit Commit Apprenticeship Program, which will expand its employer-led apprenticeship model throughout the New York region.