Esteemed colleagues,
As we continue our strategic evolution and growth, two foundation tenets remain constant: our resolve to work alongside philanthropic and higher education partners to advance equity across the postsecondary landscape and our deep gratitude to grantee partners whose commitment to students and transformational change fuels our optimism.
Last year was an important marker for us; we advanced our new strategic framework and awarded more than $56 million in grants and program-related investments, ECMC Foundation’s largest single-year investment, bringing our total funding to nearly $335 million since inception. We also welcomed new staff members and launched the Rural Impact Initiative. Moreover, 2023 was a period of reflection on the state of postsecondary education and in particular the historic, vexing inequities in degree completion across the nation. But history does not predetermine our future. We can, indeed, we must, urgently charter a bold path to create a future state in which all postsecondary students are equally likely to cross the finish line and earn their credential.
We are elated that the ECMC Foundation Board of Directors recently approved our North Star, with an audacious and clear goal: By 2040 equity gaps in postsecondary completion are eliminated, so that underserved learners have greater opportunity for social and economic mobility.