Ascendium's Education Philanthropy

08/25/2026

What does it look like when education and workforce partners come together around shared industry needs? The numbers tell part of the story.

Through Project SCALE, Colorado Succeeds is helping strengthen the connections between education, workforce training, and the needs of Colorado employers. https://bit.ly/3UhAScJ

08/24/2026

Strong grantmaking requires asking the right questions, building evidence, and applying what we learn. Ascendium's Education Philanthropy is hiring a Senior Learning and Impact Officer to help us do just that.

As part of our Planning, Learning, and Impact team, you’ll lead a portfolio of research and evaluation grants supporting our Expand Opportunity strategy and collaborate with colleagues and grant partners to strengthen how we learn from our investments.

In particular, we’re looking for someone with deep research and evaluation expertise and knowledge of workforce development, apprenticeships, sectoral training programs, or related areas.

Ready to put your expertise to work? Learn more and apply today.
https://bit.ly/4ggSWwn

08/20/2026

For Adalia G., a career pathway became a path to a career.

After enrolling in the inaugural Construction Trades program at EPIC Campus in 2023, Adalia earned college credit, completed a four-month internship, and gained industry certifications and hands-on experience.

When representatives from A Perfect Plumber visited campus for a training project, Adalia’s professionalism and work ethic stood out. Today, she’s a plumbing apprentice and a mentor to students beginning their own journeys into the skilled trades.

Clearer pathways can help learners turn classroom experiences into opportunities for a career. https://bit.ly/3UhAScJ



Colorado Succeeds

08/13/2026

Registered apprenticeships are opening new pathways to high-quality careers — expanding opportunity well beyond the skilled trades.

Inside Higher Ed reporters reflect on a recent five-part series about registered apprenticeships in this episode of The Key podcast. Click to tune in and explore the full series. https://bit.ly/4xhileO

This episode features an Inside Higher Ed newsroom discussion about a five-part series on registered apprenticeships. Underwritten by Ascendium, the six-month project saw the team battling hailstorms in Missouri, visiting factories in upstate New York and embedding themselves with learners on the jo...

08/11/2026

What happens when employers, educators, and workforce partners work together to build clearer routes into good careers?

Colorado Succeeds is finding out through Project SCALE, an employer-led model that brings partners together to align training with real workforce needs.

With support from , Colorado Succeeds is building on that work to explore how the model can expand to new industries, helping strengthen the connections between learning and work across .

Colorado Succeeds is expanding employer-led career pathways, connecting education and workforce training to in-demand careers across Colorado.

08/07/2026

How can philanthropy better recognize and learn from lived experience?

This resource from Urban Institute examines how funders can thoughtfully and ethically incorporate lived experience into grantmaking, offering practical recommendations for collecting and using this information to strengthen decision-making.

Click to read more. https://urbn.is/4yYpWkh

08/06/2026

What could postsecondary education look like if it were taught differently? Financed differently? More accessible?

New approaches have the potential to expand opportunity for learners, especially those who've faced the greatest barriers to education and career success. That's why Ascendium is sharing this opportunity from the Innovative Postsecondary Models (IPM) Fund.

Backed by eight foundations, the Fund is awarding $750,000 to $1,000,000 grants to organizations reimagining how students access, experience, and benefit from postsecondary education in the U.S.

If your organization is advancing innovative postsecondary models, learn more and apply by September 14, 2026: https://panoramaglobal.org/ipmf

08/05/2026

AI is changing the workforce — and community colleges have an opportunity to help more learners access the skills they need to succeed in AI-centered careers.

In this Issues in Science and Technology article, Antonio Delgado Fornaguera, Vice President of Innovation and Technology Partnerships at Miami Dade College, explores how community colleges can prepare learners for applied AI careers through strong employer partnerships and workforce-focused education.

Click the link to read more.

As artificial intelligence reshapes the labor market, community colleges are a practical engine for training an AI workforce.

07/29/2026

Competency-based education (CBE) is designed to create more flexible, learner-centered pathways. Making those programs work in practice requires changes across academic, administrative, and learner support systems.

Drawing on the experiences of five institutions, American Institutes for Research (AIR) shares what it takes to design, launch, and sustain learner-centered CBE programs. A companion mini-brief highlights the key takeaways.

Click the link to learn more.


University of Maine at Presque Isle
UMass Global
East Texas A&M University
Nicolet College
Sinclair College

Postsecondary competency-based education (CBE) programs are growing nationally. With funding from the Ascendium Education Group, AIR is partnering with the postsecondary CBE community nationally to improve the information available about these programs.

07/28/2026

Strong advising and coaching can help learners navigate challenges, stay engaged, and reach their goals — but how these services are designed matters.

In this brief, grant partner MDRC shares evidence-informed strategies for building advising and coaching services that better support learners in and workforce training.

Explore the resource by clicking the link.

Drawing on MDRC’s research, program design, and technical assistance work, this brief shares lessons for college and workforce program administrators about advising and coaching. The lessons are synthetic, across advising and coaching and across the two policy domains. The brief also provides illu...