The New America Foundation received funding for its research, policy analysis and advocacy on federal policy and the needs of college students in the COVID-19 era. Recent funding has also addressed the effect that the COVID-19 crisis has had on educational equity at the postsecondary level. The foundation also recently gave $1.6 million to the Credential Engine, a national organization that supports states’ policy development toward credential transparency. Grantees in this area include the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and Planning and the Montana University System. Lumina’s recent grantmaking for higher education funds efforts by individual states and public university systems to advance equitable postsecondary outcomes through aligned standards and credentialing for college courses and degree programs. The foundation also supported a program by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems to spearhead the creation of the national K-16 data system. received grants for similar projects to support the alignment of K-12 standards with college and work readiness. Indiana’s Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning and Washington D.C.’s Achieve, Inc. The foundation gave over $2 million to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ Core to College Project, which helped states to align common core standards and assessments with postsecondary expectations. Lumina’s college readiness grantmaking focuses on aligning K-12 academic standards to quantitative measures of college and career readiness. The foundation has also recently articulated commitment to “pursue racial equity, diversity and inclusion to address systemic racism that fosters injustice.” The foundation names 12 overlapping areas of focus that relate to specific aspects of education, assessment, credentialing and student support. To these ends, it supports college readiness programs, higher education, as well as research and policy development that relates to improved educational outcomes. The foundation makes grants with the broad goal of “a more just society, one which ensures paths to greater learning for people who might otherwise be left behind.” Specifically, the foundation seeks to significantly increase the number of Americans with short term credentials, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees. The USA Group founded the Lumina Foundation with the proceeds from the sale, which amounted to $770 million in cash and equity shares. PROFILE: The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation was established in 2000 when the student loan giant Sallie Mae purchased USA Group, which was then a leading loan service provider. This funder encourages organizations that align with its interests and mission to complete its partner survey and reach out to staff with ideas. This funder mainly works with grantee partners it identifies as having the capacity to “leverage large-scale systemic change.” It likes taking risks and being collaborative. Recent funding has focused on transparent credentialing practices and improving outcomes for African American, Hispanic and Native American students, among other interests. IP TAKE: Lumina’s funding focuses on large-scale educational research projects and policy development aimed at improving educational outcomes for all Americans. This funder makes grants for college readiness, higher education, racial justice and journalism. Then we incorporated learnings from that pilot into a final playbook of recommendations to help Lumina further develop and catalyze its relationships.OVERVIEW: The Lumina Foundation aims to increase the number of Americans who achieve professional credentials, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees, and its grantmaking reflects this. We tested our tactics in prototype form at one of Lumina’s virtual convenings. Based on these insights, we identified storytelling tactics that played into these influencer styles and could amplify Lumina’s impact across its network. Others preferred to amplify the change agents’ work to their own networks. Some, for example, preferred to act as change agents for systemic educational reform. To do this, we conducted a fresh body of primary research to uncover how the people in Lumina’s network form connections with one other and share ideas. It had deeper and broader relationships with its target audiences and was ready to take its efforts to the next level by understanding not just how to influence its audiences, but also understanding how its audiences influence each other. Several years after our initial engagement, Lumina had made tremendous progress in developing a best-in-class strategic communications practice. Harnessing the power of network influence
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