College to Career Success Grantees
In addition to the new CME Group Foundation Scholars program, the Foundation provides operating support grants to a number of nonprofit organizations that work with Chicago’s low-income and minority students. These organizations ensure post-secondary degree or certification attainment and a transition to a strong first job in the field in which they majored. The Foundation also supports research and policy organizations serving that goal. These select organizations have a track record of success in providing research that is needed and utilized by the field and/or successful policy work that has advanced priorities of the post-secondary and career success fields.
Congratulations to our 2019 grantees!
Genesys Works - $50,000 over two years to support general operations
Genesys Works has a mission to transform the lives of disadvantaged high school students through skills training, meaningful internships, and impactful relationships. Genesys Works believes that earning a college degree is as important as developing workforce-ready skills and that underserved students are more likely to succeed in college if they have experienced the type of job that a degree can lead to.
Posse Foundation - $50,000 over two years to support general operations
The Posse Foundation is one of the nation`s premier college success, leadership cultivation and workforce diversification organizations. Posse partners with elite schools that award diverse, high-achieving students from urban public high schools early admission and full-tuition, merit scholarships. Posse Scholars attend college in multicultural teams of 10 students - a posse - to provide critical peer support for one another. The comprehensive, year-round, Posse program ensures that Scholars persist and graduate with the knowledge, skills and resources they need to excel in meaningful careers and as inclusive leaders for the workforce, the community and the nation.
Braven - $50,000 to support general operations in Chicago
Braven empowers underrepresented college students—first-generation, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—with the skills, confidence, experiences and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.
America Needs You - $50 over two years to support general operations
The mission of America Needs You (ANY) is to fight for economic mobility for ambitious first-generation college students, by providing transformative mentorship and intensive career development. Since serving its first cohort of students in 2010, ANY has opened educational and economic doors for over 1,400 low-income students at sites across the U.S.
Bottom Line - $50,000 over two years to support the Chicago region general operations
Bottom Line was founded in 1997 as a small nonprofit organization supporting 25 high school seniors in Boston. The organization has grown dramatically over the last 20 years and now serves more than 7,700 students across Massachusetts, New York, and Chicago. Students begin working with Bottom Line the summer before their senior year of high school. Advisors help students navigate every step of the college application process with a focus on five areas: college lists, essays, applications, financial aid, and making a college choice.
One Million Degrees - $50,000 over two years to support accelerating community college student careers
One Million Degrees (OMD) began in 2006 as a scholarship program for 25 students attending Chicagoland community colleges and soon evolved to a holistic, wraparound support model that provides comprehensive academic, personal, professional, and financial supports to hundreds of students. As the only organization in Illinois solely dedicated to accelerating community college students’ progress on career pathways to economic mobility, OMD’s unique Scholar Development Program aims to help students overcome a variety of challenges. OMD has built a robust model of transformational supports to help increase persistence and degree attainment among community college students.
College Possible - $50,000 over two years to support general operations
College Possible pioneered the application of AmeriCorps national service to the issue of college access and success—a key innovation—achieving progress at one-fifth the cost of most comparable federally-funded programs. College Possible launched their Chicago site in the fall of 2015 and has aggressive plans to reach more students and change the landscape of college access and completion for low-income students in the community.
Moneythink - $25,000 to support college financial coaching
Originating at the University of Chicago in 2008, Moneythink utilizes a web-based text-messaging platform in conjunction with student-facing technology tools to deliver immediate personalized support on financial planning. Moneythink designed its Financial Aid Award Letter Comparison Tool to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the types of financial aid students are receiving as well as reveal any gaps in cost they may need to fill. This accessible tool allows students to clearly view which schools are affordable and which may leave them at financial risk.
Partnership for College Completion - $100,000 over two years to support general operations
Partnership for College Completion (PCC) is committed to lead, guide and support local, state and national policy efforts to prioritize student success, remove barriers to college completion and incentivize institutional reform. With the support of the PCC Policy Committee, composed of education policy leaders in Chicago, PCC developed an agenda to prioritize policy issues.
Chicago Community Trust/Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance - $100,000 over two years to support Progressive Pathways
Progressive Pathways is a partnership of Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance (CWFA) and a group of education funders. Their mission is for all young adults in Cook County to have access to accurate, and actionable information about Progressive Pathways and Progressive Pathway Programs available to them.
