Education & Youth Blog 

Last week, my colleague Ellen Martin and I had the opportunity to join the Council of Michigan Foundations Community Foundations Retreat to discuss collective impact and what the approach might mean for their work in college access. And what a visit it was! In addition to the local microbrews and Zingerman's chocolate, we were encouraged and excited to hear about the stories from local community foundations and how they're grappling with critical questions of how to build and sustain college access networks around the state, using the collective impact approach. We heard stories of community foundations taking on roles in rural, suburban, and urban communities; engaging with cross-sectoral players; and shedding light on data, problems, and gaps; and grappling with what it means to "own" a problem and how they can have the greatest impact.

Community colleges, long overlooked in U.S. higher education, have finally found the spotlight.

This was the message I heard in late February when I attended a conference for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program in Washington, D.C. Despite the long name, the program means real money – $2 billion over four years to help community colleges redesign their career pathways and training programs to prepare students for the jobs of the future. $500 million in competitive funds have already been granted, and the $2 billion pot may lead to a larger, $8 billion “Community College to Career Fund” that President Obama announced in his 2012 State of the Union Address.