Our Evolution

The ECMC Foundation Board of Directors decided to become more strategic in our grantmaking, focusing the Foundation’s efforts on improving postsecondary outcomes for learners from underserved backgrounds.

The Foundation narrowed its strategic focus to two areas: College Success and Career Readiness. College Success aimed to increase the number of learners currently enrolled who attain a bachelor’s degree while Career Readiness focused on improving postsecondary career and technical education outcomes.

The Foundation created Education Innovation Ventures, our program-related investments program that makes catalytic investments into nonprofit and for-profit ventures that seek to drive changes in economic mobility for learners and jobseekers.

The Foundation launched its new strategic framework with three priorities for realizing systemic change: removing barriers to postsecondary completion; building the capacity of organizations, systems and institutions; and transforming the postsecondary ecosystem.

The Foundation underwent a leadership transition as Peter J. Taylor retired and Jacob Fraire became our new president. Under Jacob’s leadership, the Foundation transformed our organizational structure, establishing teams dedicated to initiatives and strategically responsive grantmaking.

The Foundation is engaging partners across the postsecondary ecosystem in pursuit of our North Star: By 2040 equity gaps in postsecondary completion are eliminated, so that underserved learners have greater opportunity for social and economic mobility.