Prioritizing Adult Community College Enrollment (PACCE) Initiative

Q: How much funding does Prioritizing Adult Community College Enrollment (PACCE) Initiative provide?

The listing does not state a funding amount. Check the funder's announcement for specifics.

Q: When is the deadline for Prioritizing Adult Community College Enrollment (PACCE) Initiative?

The funder has not published a deadline for this grant.

Q: Who is eligible for Prioritizing Adult Community College Enrollment (PACCE) Initiative?

Eligible applicants: Institutions with demonstrated understanding of adult student needs; Colleges with promising existing efforts to scale. Geography: Located in the following states only.

Achieving the Dream Inc

Foundation One-time Grants for Education Workforce Development Grants Grants for Minorities

Funding Amount

Not stated

Deadline

Deadline not published

Grant Type

Foundation

Deadline history & next window

Cycle: One-time opportunity
Tracked since: April 2026

Source: the cycle recorded on this listing. Confirm dates with the funder.

Can we apply?

Check your organization against each line. Taken from the listing; confirm with the funder's guidelines.

Eligible organizations

Institutions with demonstrated understanding of adult student needs
Colleges with promising existing efforts to scale

Geography

Located in the following states only

Other requirements

Alabama
California
Colorado
Florida

Overview

Overview:
A competitive grant program that supported 20 community colleges committed to increasing enrollments of adult learners aged 25 and older. The initiative focused on scaling promising efforts that intentionally address improving enrollments of adult students, particularly Black, Latinx, and Native American students.

Geographic Scope:
Public two-year institutions located in the following states only:

Alabama
California
Colorado
Florida
Michigan
New York
North Carolina
Texas
Virginia

Focus Areas:

Increasing enrollment and re-enrollment of adult learners (25+)
Serving students balancing employment, parenting, and other commitments
Centering racial equity as an explicit goal
Scaling evidence-based strategies

Support Provided:

Monthly curriculum
Personalized feedback
Open office hours
Individualized coaching supports
Technical assistance providers: Achieving the Dream, Ideas42, and rpkGroup

Eligibility:

Public two-year institutions in specified states
Institutions with demonstrated understanding of adult student needs
Institutions with racial equity as explicit institutional goal
Colleges with promising existing efforts to scale

Program Timeline:

October 2021 - May 31, 2023
All enrollment strategies were to be fully scaled by end date

What Achieving the Dream Inc actually gave

Source: IRS Form 990, 2025

Grants in 2025: 12
Total given: $363K
Median grant: $25K
Range: $7,500–$120K

By dollars: Texas 57%, North Carolina 7%, Washington 7%. Top recipient cities: Austin, TX; Mesquite, TX; Winston-Salem, NC.
0% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.
50% of recipients were new grantees, not repeat recipients.

Example grants

Austin Community College District · Austin, TX

Implementation grants

$120K
Dallas College Eastfield Campus · Mesquite, TX

Implementation grants

$30K
Forsyth Technical Community College · Winston Salem, NC

Implementation grants

$25K
Everett Community College · Everett, WA

Implementation grants

$25K
North Central State College · Mansfield, OH

Implementation grants

$25K