ECMC Foundation

Strategically responsive grantmaking:ecmc Foundation aims to drive systemic change, getting at the root causes of complex challenges in higher education, not just the symptoms. This may mean tackling the biases, institutional, system-level or state or federal policies, resource allocation and flows, and financial and life circumstances that create barriers to success for underserved learners.in addition to the five primary program initiatives, Ecmc Foundation makes grants and investments through an open letter of inquiry process. As Ecmc Foundation pursues systemic change in the postsecondary ecosystem, it remains committed to funding evidence-based innovation with the flexibility to adapt as the higher education landscape evolves. Ecmc Foundation reserves funding for projects that do not fit within one of the established initiatives but are connected to one or more of its strategic priorities.

Single mother student success:the single mother student success initiative ensures that single mothers can pursue their educational dreams and produce measurable progress on racial and gender equity, not just in higher education, but in society as a whole, reducing poverty and boosting economic mobility. Elements of Ecmc Foundation's strategy include conducting research to better understand the experience of single mother students, building the capacity of community colleges to provide more comprehensive services, expanding partnerships with community-based organizations and building public will for single mother student success through increased awareness of supportive strategies and policies. In 2023, Ecmc Foundation made 12 grants totaling $4.9 million.

Basic needs:the basic needs initiative focuses on providing access to basic needs, such as food, housing, childcare, mental health, financial assistance and transportation, which is critical for ensuring strong academic performance, increasing persistence and graduation, and improving wellbeing among students in postsecondary education. The basic needs initiative developed a new strategy and produced a theory of action to realize an ambitious goal to decrease the percentage of postsecondary students experiencing basic needs insecurity by 10% by 2033. The basic needs initiative now prioritizes funding high-impact solutions within three strategic areas: growing data capacity, scaling effective practices and informing policy reform.

Men of color:the men of color initiative is committed to bringing focus to colleges and universities adopting data-informed and equity-centered programs and practices to better serve college students who are men of color. The initiative aims to strengthen programs and improve student outcomes, promote culture change in higher education institutions and advance field-building efforts to inform and address equity gaps. The initiative's first year included extensive structuring and strategizing as Ecmc Foundation funded innovative new projects.

Career and technical education leadership collaborative (cte lc):the cte lc initiative is committed to bringing together diverse perspectives and equips postsecondary career and technical education leaders with the tools, resources and skills needed to advance the field. Through grants made to leading organizations and institutions, Ecmc foundation-funded fellowship programs offer professional development to leaders known as Ecmc Foundation fellows (fellows), including in-person and virtual events; writing and presenting opportunities; and capstone projects. In 2023, the cte lc fellow community grew to more than 300 fellows. Ecmc Foundation also began the fellow spotlight series, which showcases past and current fellows' ongoing engagement with postsecondary cte and their diverse perspectives on the field. The cte lc includes the annual cte lc convening, where fellows meet to learn and innovate together, enhancing on-the-job performance and potential for promotions, publications, and other professional achievements.

Transfer and credit mobility:the transfer and credit mobility initiative identifies and supports effective and equitable transfers of credits between and among all postsecondary education institutions, including career and technical education programs, community colleges and four-year institutions. The transfer and credit mobility initiative grew out of Ecmc Foundation's previous catalyzing transfer initiative that tackled issues of student and credit mobility, totaling $23 million between 2015 and 2022. The initiative makes grants in three key areas: technology-enabled solutions (including machine learning and artificial intelligence) that give students greater agency in initiating and managing their educational journey, institutional incentives that create positive transfer-affirming campus cultures and effective state policymaking that better support transfer students.

Education innovation ventures:education innovation ventures (eiv) makes below-market-rate investments into nonprofit and for-profit ventures that seek to generate both social impact and financial returns. Complementing Ecmc Foundation's strategic grantmaking, the eiv program uses a full spectrum of program-related investments, including debt and equity instruments, to provide catalytic, risk capital to early-stage ventures working to increase postsecondary educational outcomes and economic mobility among learners and jobseekers from systemically disadvantaged backgrounds. Financial returns are reinvested into additional program-related investments, allowing Ecmc Foundation to recycle investment dollars to fund further impact initiatives and drive changes in economic mobility for learners and jobseekers. In 2023, eiv invested nearly $3.9 million across 8 pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, 1 nonprofit and 2 funds working to remove financial barriers for students.

Go! Program: Ecmc Foundation awards grants to the generating outcomes (go!) Program, a corporate initiative to fund education innovation by funding ideas and partnerships that can be examined for effectiveness in the local communities of the Ecmc group, inc. employees. To qualify for payment of a go! Program grant, the awarded recipient must be a third-party nonprofit entity or a governmental partner, such as public schools, and expend the grant award for the purpose designated in the recipient's grant proposal. In 2023, Ecmc Foundation awarded grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 each to 98 organizations for a total of $1 million.