Location: Indianapolis, IN
Contact Info: http://www.luminafoundation.org/contact-us, Phone: 800-834-5756
Coverage Area: National
Subject Areas: Access to higher education
Assets: $1.3 billion (2013)
Last Year Total Giving: $23.3 million (2013)
In a nutshell:
The Lumina Foundation strives to meet workforce demands and close gaps in the attainment of higher education. Lumina’s overarching goal is to increase the U.S. higher education attainment rate to 60 percent by 2025, which would represent an increase of 23 million graduates above current levels.
While the Lumina Foundation’s mission focuses on both student access and success in higher education, its emphasis is on attainment, defined as completing post-secondary certificates, associate and baccalaureate degrees and credentials.
The Lumina Foundation’s long list of active grants includes the following:
- $575,000 to the Education Writers Association in Washington D.C. to provide training and programming that helps English- and Spanish-speaking journalists better understand higher education.
- $300,000 to the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in Chicago, Illinois to assess the scalability of online prior learning assessment service, LearningCounts.
- $250,000 to the Student African American Brotherhood in Toledo, Ohio, to establish 10 chapters in higher education institutions within Community Partnerships for Attainment sites.
Major Programs:
Lumina’s funding is directed to advance the following strategies:
- Build a Goal 2025 Social Movement
- Mobilize Employers, Metro Areas, and Regions to Increase Attainment
- Mobilize Higher Education to Increase Student Success
- Advance State Policy for Increased Attainment
- Advance Federal Policy for Increased Attainment
- Create New Models of Student Financial Support
- Design New Higher Education Business and Finance Models
- Create New Systems of Quality Credentials
For more information on these strategies, view the foundation’s strategic plan.
How to Apply:
The Lumina Foundation welcomes letters of inquiry year-round from eligible organizations seeking funds for work that fit Lumina’s mission and guidelines. Unsolicited inquiries are usually reviewed through the end of September. Organizations may submit more than one inquiry at any one time. For more information, visit the foundation’s web page on letters of inquiry.
Recent News and Grantmaking:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/13/project-create-models-broader-form-student-transcript