Nellie Mae Education Foundation, National Youth Employment Coalition to support organizations in effort to increase the number of youth attaining a postsecondary credential
Quincy, MA - The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has awarded the National Youth Employment Coalition $200,000 and will partner with them to establish a pilot effort aimed at building the capacity of a small network of organizations in order to support low income youth and young adults to attain a postsecondary credential. The National Youth Employment Coalition is a national membership network of 250+ members in 40 states dedicated to improving the effectiveness of organizations that seek to help youth become productive citizens. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are contributing $5.6 million to the effort over four years as part of their new initiative to double the number of students who attain a postsecondary degree by the age of 26.
For more information, contact: Mala B. Thakur, Executive Director, NYEC, 202-659-1064/
mt@nyec.org; Nick Lorenzen, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, 781-348-4239 or nlorenzen@nmefdn.org; or email media@gatesfoundation.org.
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on education. The Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs and intermediary organizations in order to stimulate transformative change in public education systems and ensure that all New England’s learners are prepared for success. The Foundation investigates, promotes and supports a greater variety of high-quality educational opportunities that enable all citizens – especially and essentially those from underserved populations – to obtain the skills, knowledge and supports necessary to become civically-engaged, economically self-sufficient, life-long learners. Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has distributed nearly $83 million in grants. Currently, it primarily provides funding through five strategic initiatives: Early Learning, Pathways to Higher Learning, Time for Learning, Adult Learning, and Systems Building. For more information, visit www.nmefdn.org
NYEC strives to achieve its mission by tracking, crafting and informing policy; setting and promoting quality standards; promoting professional development, and; building the capacity of youth-serving organizations and systems. www.nyec.org
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. www.gatesfoundation.org
