OUR AREAS OF IMPACT

EDUCATION &
WORKFORCE

OUR AREAS OF IMPACT

EDUCATION &
WORKFORCE

The James Graham Brown Foundation (JGBF) believes that equitable educational attainment and aligned workforce systems will increase economic and social mobility for all citizens of Louisville and Kentucky, improving prosperity of the Commonwealth. JGBF makes education grants within three primary focus areas. Read more about JGBF’s education priorities and examples of recent grants below.

K-12 Grantmaking Priorities

Postsecondary Grantmaking Priorities

Place-Based Education Grantmaking Prioritiess

Despite making steady progress, Kentucky remains in the bottom half of U.S. states for educational attainment. Furthermore, in these Kentucky’s attainment outcomes reflect a high level of inequity, with BIPOC, low-income and first-generation college students graduating at much lower rates. This limits prosperity, perpetuates high levels of poverty and creates a shortage of talent necessary to create, attract and retain jobs and businesses. In addition to hindering the well-being of Kentuckians, these factors also create an enduring negative image of our state.

K-12 Grantmaking Priorities
(Primarily Jefferson County)

JGBF makes grants with the goal of increasing social and economic mobility for underrepresented students. JGBF prioritizes proposals that support efforts to:

  • Build and expand access to coordinated wraparound services
  • Create clear and equitable pathways from high school to college and to living-wage and high-wage jobs
  • Reduce academic achievement gaps within JCPS
  • Create greater alignment between K-12, postsecondary and workforce systems

K-12 EDUCATION
FEATURED GRANTS

SUPPORTING THE JCPS
ACADEMIES OF LOUISVILLE

The JCPS Academies of Louisville provide high school students with meaningful learning and training experiences that are aligned with regional education, economic and workforce needs. The Academy model has established more than 100 partnerships between high schools and businesses in the community to form a talent development system that works to equip students with the skills needed for navigating postsecondary education and a constantly evolving economy. JGBF has supported the academies through support of KentuckianaWorks, Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana, and 3DE.

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION GRANTMAKING PRIORITIES
(Statewide)

JGBF makes grants with the goal of strengthening the quality of educational opportunities and improving outcomes provided by postsecondary institutions in Kentucky. JGBF prioritizes proposals that support efforts to:

  • Emphasize improved outcomes for students of all ages who are low-income, first-generation and/or BIPOC
  • Accelerate and improve institutional interventions that increase timely degree completion by narrowing achievement gaps
  • Improve pathways for students to complete college with meaningful degrees and career-ready skills
  • Support greater alignment between K-12, postsecondary and workforce systems

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
FEATURED GRANTS

LEVERAGING ECONOMIC AFFORDABILITY FOR DEVELOPING SUCCESS (LEADS)

With an eye towards maximizing retention and equitable access to higher education, the University of Kentucky LEADS Program uses a predictive model to provide the most financially vulnerable students with individualized awards that cover unmet financial needs. UK has already seen increases in retention rates, demonstrating the program’s success in using data-informed strategies and personalized methods to encourage financial stability among underrepresented minorities, first generation students and Pell Grant recipients.

CREATING A STATE-WIDE STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER

JGBF is partnering with the Council on Postsecondary Education to launch the Kentucky Student Success Collaborative (KYSSC). KYSSC is the first state-wide student success center in the United States that works with both two- and four-year institutions, while linked to the business community and state policy makers. The KYSSC is built on what has been learned from nearly a decade of national philanthropic investments in state student success centers in over 16 states. It emphasizes improved outcomes for underrepresented students, accelerating and improving institutional interventions to narrow attainment gaps and improving pathways for students to complete college with career ready skills. Kentucky has the opportunity to learn both from the successes and failures of other initiatives and to impact student outcomes more quickly.

PLACE BASED EDUCATION PRIORITIES (Eastern Kentucky & West Louisville)

The goal of this grantmaking focus is to support efforts of postsecondary institutions to accelerate economic growth and social mobility in the two regions that are the focus of JGBF’s community and economic prosperity grantmaking program. Of interest are programs and initiatives to:

  • Connect people to jobs with livable wages in sectors of the economy that are stable and growing.
  • Increase access to credentials with labor-market value and decrease the time and cost to earn those credentials.
  • Accelerate entrepreneurship by increasing access to supports designed to develop the capacity of nascent and novice entrepreneurs.
  • Leverage the potential of postsecondary institutions to play a leadership role in regional transformation and in supporting community and economic development.

PLACED BASED EDUCATION
FEATURED GRANTS

CREATING PATHWAYS TO LIVING WAGE JOBS IN WEST LOUISVILLE

“In the last two years, the Louisville Urban League has been able to place over 1,100 men and women in jobs, representing $25 million in new wages. We could not have made this kind of impact without our partnership with the James Graham Brown Foundation. Together, we are assisting African Americans and other marginalized populations in job placement, helping to create the financial stability necessary for strong families.” – Sadiqa Reynolds. JGBF has supported the Louisville Urban League through multiple grants that focus on creating pathways to living wage jobs.

CATALYZING BUSINESS GROWTH IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

The mission of Invest606 is to create an ecosystem of support for emerging entrepreneurs. It is a business accelerator, based on both a community-based collaboration and a higher-education partner. This accelerator has removed many obstacles for emerging businesses in the Appalachian area by making networking, pitching ideas, and access to funds more accessible for all. JGBF has supported this mission through work with the Foundation of Appalachian Kentucky and the University of the Cumberlands to adapt the accelerator model to the rural communities in Eastern Kentucky.