Socioeconomic disparities in higher education are an ever-present issue despite our increased awareness of the problem. One popular nonprofit is giving it an expiration date through an experimental grantmaking process aimed at the sector’s key friction points.
The ECMC Foundation, one of the nation’s largest postsecondary philanthropists has debuted the North Star initiative with an ambitious 16-year plan: By 2040, equity gaps in postsecondary completion are eliminated, so that underserved learners have greater opportunity for social and economic mobility.
The nonprofit identified many demographics that it wants to ensure all graduate at a similar rate: those of different races and ethnicities, geographies, socioeconomic statuses and ages. It recently announced its commitment to rural learners through the Rural Impact Initiative, which dedicated research and funding to ensuring students of all regions are provided a decent education.
Jacob Fraire, president of the ECMC Foundation, points to the 40 million adults who’ve enrolled in higher education without earning a credential—despite the health and social benefits associated with it—as a key driver for creating this initiative. Leaders must look beyond equitable enrollment rates, he says.
“Creating equal opportunity for students to access the starting line to postsecondary education has always been a noble goal, but it is ultimately insufficient,” he said in a statement. “We’re making our ambition public to invite both accountability and the sort of cross-sector collaboration that success will demand.”
ECMC’s grantmaking strategy
The nonprofit is expanding its grantmaking capabilities with a $64 million investment. Here are the three pillars guiding its funding policy.
- Emphasizing programs that remove barriers to college completion. Many Black, Hispanic and other minority students enroll at the two-year level. Many do not transfer due to confusing policies and a lack of guidance.
- Build the capacity of postsecondary organizations, institutions and systems.
- Cross-sector collaborations that can transform the postsecondary ecosystem. One recent study found the common friction points interrupting stronger relationships between higher ed and employers.
The North Star initiative is based on the nonprofit’s strategic framework, which it implements across other initiatives.
Fraire has set his initiatives pretty high. His hope for the ECMC Foundation isn’t that it merely dissolves the symptoms of higher ed’s longstanding problem of ensuring stronger success rates. He wants the nonprofit to eradicate the existing conditions that allow the problems to fester.
