Project ACCESS: Grant for Accelerating Career Connections and Employment Success Strategies

Overview

Project ACCESS: Accelerating Career Connections and Employment Success Strategies

Jobs for the Future (JFF), with support from the PwC Foundation, is creating and supporting a cohort of 10 exemplary community and technical colleges in accelerating innovative programs that effectively connect learners—especially those facing systemic barriers, such as learners who identify as Black or Latine, women of all backgrounds, learners from low-income households and first-generation postsecondary education students—with paid work-based learning opportunities and quality jobs. Through direct funding from the PwC Foundation and technical assistance from JFF, JFF and the cohort institutions will identify, strengthen, and scale existing programs aligned with a variety of strategies, including apprenticeship and work-based learning, career navigation services and supports, short-term credentials, and other approaches that can lead to labor market opportunity.

Each college that is selected for this opportunity will receive $300,000 over a two-year period. Colleges will be expected to utilize these funds to strengthen, expand, and scale effective programming that connects community and technical college learners facing systemic barriers to economic advancement to paid work-based learning experiences and/or quality jobs.

This initiative is more than just a funding opportunity—it’s a chance to be at the forefront of driving systemic change in education and workforce development. By accelerating innovative practices that connect learners to paid work-based learning opportunities and quality jobs, we aim to disrupt occupational inequities and increase economic advancement for those facing barriers.

Our goal is to:

* Expand and scale successful programs that have demonstrated impact
* Enhance data collection and analysis to drive continuous improvement
* Strengthen relationships between colleges and employers
* Share leading practices across a national network of innovative institutions

By participating in this initiative, your college has the power to not only transform the lives of your students but also to contribute to a national movement toward more equitable and effective workforce and education strategies.

What We Offer

Selected colleges will receive a comprehensive package of support designed to accelerate and amplify their impact:

* Passthrough Funding Support: $300,000 (award in two installments over two years) to strengthen, expand, and scale effective programs, including research and evaluation support.
* Expert Technical Assistance: Ongoing coaching and technical assistance from JFF subject matter experts.
* Peer Learning Community: Engagement in a vibrant community of practice (CoP) with other innovative colleges across the country.
* National Recognition: Opportunity to be featured in thought leadership and national convenings.

Expectations of Participating Colleges

Commitment to:

* Inclusive opportunity and equity
* Outcomes and impact
* Partnerships (e.g., with employers and other community organizations)
* Research and evaluation
* Technical assistance and coaching participation

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Participating colleges are a public community or technical college, which may include community colleges offering baccalaureate programs.
* Participating colleges have a pre-existing program with strong evidence of the effectiveness of connecting learners to paid work-based learning opportunities and/or jobs that meet one or more components of quality jobs.
* Participating colleges have at least 100-150 students already enrolled in this program annually (this may include across multiple campuses).
* Participating colleges demonstrate that their program serves or aims to serve representative groups of students, including learners facing systemic barriers, such as learners who identify as Black or Latine, women of all backgrounds, learners from low-income households, and first-generation postsecondary education students.
* Participating programs have the capacity or willingness to build capacity for robust data collection and programmatic evaluation.