2023 EIF Impact Report by ECMC Group

ECMC Group’s Education Impact Fund is investing to improve access and outcomes for underserved learners.

Through our Education Impact Fund (EIF), we are building a $250 million evergreen portfolio of mission-aligned investments to accelerate the transformation of America’s postsecondary and workforce ecosystem. By investing in innovative and impactful companies and collaborating with institutions, employers and communities, we aim to drive meaningful progress toward a shared vision of improved education access and outcomes for underserved learners. Our EIF “double bottom-line” strategy sits alongside ECMC Foundation’s strategic grantmaking and program-related investments, collectively enabling ECMC Group to deploy funds across the full spectrum of impact capital toward its mission.

We are still early in this journey launched a little over four years ago and we have much yet to learn and do. Still, our team, platform and portfolio have all grown significantly over that time. While we know that the biggest returns both impact and financial are mostly yet to come, we are eager and committed to measuring our progress thus far.

Even though so much has changed in the last year, our goal for our Impact Report remains the same.

While this report is, in part, a measuring stick for our fund, meant to ensure our dollars are indeed going toward impactful outcomes, that is not our primary goal. Primarily, we hope to use this report to elevate the laudable work being done daily by the purposeful founders and companies we’re investing in. By doing so, we

endeavor to amplify robust, data-driven impact narratives that demonstrate efficacy and compel other investors, funders and stakeholders to embrace these innovative solutions. Through this lens, we believe we can best support our portfolio companies’ impactful visions, as they navigate persistent and emergent challenges across the landscape.

Looking forward, we are driven by opportunities to lean in further. On top of our investment and measurement and evaluation efforts, we are building out our Impact Acceleration platform. Behind a fancy moniker is a simple premise: better impact outcomes tied to product value proposition will lead to superior financial returns. To realize this, we recognize the need to offer dedicated team members and resources, as well as activate the power of ECMC Group and ECMC Foundation, to support portfolio companies across all aspects of their businesses and propel impact outcomes that benefit learners and workers, establishing a virtuous cycle of impact and financial returns that ultimately drives business growth.

But we realize we’re just getting started, and as noted, have much to learn. Like our portfolio companies, we intend to experiment, learn, make progress, iterate and repeat. We invite like-minded mission-aligned companies and co-investors to reach out, share feedback and partner with us to drive toward the impact that continues to get us all out of bed in the morning!

WHY THIS WORK MATTERS

Outcomes across the learner journey have stagnated over the last decade, and at different points of the learner journey, underserved groups face considerable equity gaps…

Progress in the national six-year college completion rate has stalled, and the roughly 25% gap between students of color and their white peers has remained true for the last seven cohorts studied.

While the country’s persistence rate has remained relatively unchanged over the last decade, adult learners (25 and older) have seen a 7% decline in persistence over that same period, representing a 36% gap between them and learners 20 or younger.

While employment rates for learners have recently seen an uptick (after little movement over the last decade), a 10% gap remains between men (85%) and women (75%) and ranges from a 5-31% difference across attainment levels. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates was 61% percent in October 2023 overall, with a ~8% gender gap between men (57.6%) and women (65.3%).1

…pointing to a continued need for a fundamental transformation of the nation’s education and workforce systems to deliver on postsecondary accessibility and learner outcomes.

The value propositions of higher education have eroded...

…and despite a momentous increase in access to short-term credentials…

…skills-based approaches have yet to deliver desired outcomes…

…so the labor force gap persists.

52%

Of recent four-year graduates are underemployed1

one year after graduation. When looking at this rate a decade later, 45% of graduates remain underemployed. Underemployed graduates earn only about 25% more than someone with no education beyond high school.

89%

Increase in the number of conferred sub-baccalaureate certificates2 over the last 20 years, as a result of 59 state-led initiatives that represent nearly $4B in investments to expand access to short-term credentials that meet the needs of local economies.3

1 in 700

Of yearly hires studied were made through a skills-based approach4 and progress isn’t shared uniformly across all firms that adopted skills-based policies. Nearly all the change in skills-based hiring was driven by 37% of the firms that removed degree requirements.

2.1M

Workers are missing from the U.S. labor force5

when compared to pre-pandemic labor force participation rates. Moreover, 38 out of 50 states are seeing less participation. Even if all unemployed workers were hired, we would still have 3M open jobs.

TRENDS WE’RE WATCHING

To accelerate transformation, we’re most excited about solutions that prioritize learner wellbeing and help learners navigate a shift in the way we prepare, train and hire.

Of college students say they are dealing with declining mental and emotional health1

Students are constantly dealing with anxiety, burnout and depression, citing balancing school with work or family, the financial stresses of college and the uncertainty about their careers, as the key challenges they face.

Of higher ed faculty and staff agree that academic programs need to be designed around specific skills2

According to the report, many schools are regularly connecting with employers to discuss the necessary skills for employment and providing this information to students. However, the use of digital tools to implement these frameworks is limited. Inhibiting a more recognizable shift to a skills-based economy.

Of students believe their institutions should prepare them for AI in the workplace3

The top priorities for these students are being taught to ethically deploy AI and better development of critical thinking and problemsolving skills to ensure AI augments their future careers and does not eliminate opportunities.

Of governors have expressed a desire to expand workforce development strategies to reach learners earlier4

This dynamic is driven by federal momentum through the Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success initiative, which is pouring millions of dollars into expanding access to dual enrollment, work-based learning, workforce credentials and career advising and navigation.

PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

ABOUT THE EDUCATION IMPACT FUND (EIF)

Our Vision Statement

To accelerate the transformation of America’s postsecondary and workforce ecosystem by investing in innovative companies and collaborating with institutions, employers and communities toward a shared vision of improving education access and outcomes for underserved learners.

Improve access and outcomes for learners

Deeply impact underserved groups and communities MissionAligned Impact

Demonstrate efficacy to attract adoption and scale solutions

Capital deployed through EIF furthers ECMC Group’s mission and strategic objectives as well as generates financial returns to perpetuate our impact

Financial Returns

Generate risk-adjusted returns

Patient and flexible capital deployment approach

“Evergreen” model provides for recycling returns to expand impact

EIF AT A GLANCE

The Education Impact Fund (EIF) is building a portfolio of direct investments into early- and growth-stage companies, as well as a fund of funds portfolio, that removes barriers to quality education and improves outcomes for underserved learners and workers.

EIF DIRECT INVESTMENT FOCUS AREAS

Learner pain points and impact opportunities across postsecondary and employment drive our investment thesis and areas of focus.

Impact Themes Target Outcomes Active Portfolio

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Revolutionizing Skill Development

• Access to Quality Programs

• Affordability

• Matriculation Rates

• Credentials of Value

• Measurable Skill Gains

• Program ROI

Removing Barriers to Completion

• Graduation Rates

• Student Persistence

• Time to Completion

Fueling Career Success

• Placement Rates

• Promotion Rates

• Wage Uplift

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Revolutionizing Skill Development

Removing Barriers to Completion

Fueling Career Success

WHO OUR PORTFOLIO SERVES

Direct Portfolio

As our direct portfolio grows, it is deeply impacting millions of diverse and traditionally underserved learners across the postsecondary and workforce landscape.

Total Companies1 $49M Capital Invested ~7M Learners Served (During 2023)

Fund of Funds Portfolio

As our fund of funds portfolio grows, we expand the reach of our capital and scale the impact of our dollars through strategic collaboration with mission-aligned investors.

17 Funds

$108M Capital Committed

306 Companies Supported

IMPACT APPROACH

We leverage a three-step approach to identifying, assessing and accelerating impact that hinges on partnering collaboratively with our portfolio companies to support them in achieving their impact goals.

Partnering to Accelerate Impact

Evaluate Using Our Impact Framework

Establish Impact Thesis

Identify the core problem and what’s unique about the company’s solution, ensure alignment between impact and financial success and unite on a long-term vision

During diligence and post-investment, measure impact along three core factors: reach, efficacy and scalability

Post-investment, work with portfolio companies to identify opportunities to support the realization and acceleration of impact outcomes

ESTABLISH AN IMPACT THESIS

Before entering diligence, we work with founders to understand their impact vision and align on a clear and compelling impact narrative that informs our evaluation of impact.

Vision

What is the long-term impact that the company seeks to achieve, and how will this vision inform decision-making and galvanize the team?

Problem

What is the core problem the company is targeting, and why is it urgent and relevant?

Approach

How is the company solving this problem in a compelling and differentiated way?

Alignment

What elements of the business model and leadership ensure a virtuous cycle of impact and financial outcomes?

Pre-Investment

During our diligence process, we evaluate a company’s impact using a three-factor framework, assessing each element based on the company’s current outcomes data. We also use this framework to identify potential opportunities to improve a company’s impact outcomes, either by enhancing metrics/analytics or specific impact initiatives.

Post-Investment

Using the initial assessment

as a roadmap, we work to support our companies in advancing their impact analytics and outcomes.

EIF Impact Framework Example Metrics

Reach

The size of the impact opportunity and the company’s current and potential impact on underrepresented or marginalized populations

Efficacy

The research and data points that validate the company’s ability to deliver long-term outcomes aligned to its impact vision

• Current learners reached

• Total number of addressable learners

• Demographic composition

Scalability

The company’s ability to drive operating leverage while maintaining or improving its impact outcomes over time

• Evidence-backed pedagogy

• Surveys/feedback

• User engagement data

• Quantitative studies and RCTs

• Capital efficiency metrics (unit economics, burn multiple, etc.)

• Cost to serve/deliver outcomes

EIF IMPACT ACCELERATION PLATFORM

We launched our Impact Acceleration Platform to offer hands-on, tailored support to our portfolio companies focused on propelling impact outcomes that are tied to business growth.

Access to the ECMC Group’s network to advise on key business functions and strategies

Opportunities to highlight our portfolio’s impact and share innovative approaches

Advisory

EIF-supported projects to establish evidence-based approaches and strategies

Special projects in partnership with the ECMC Group, ECMC Foundation and EIF portfolio that help drive value creation

Opportunities to share knowledge, explore emerging trends and identify areas for collaboration Resources and insights that help advance the collective knowledge of our portfolio

PARTNERING TO ACCELERATE IMPACT

Early projects demonstrate the impact of this work, and we continue to invest our team and resources, as well as leverage the ECMC Group platform, to realize the opportunity.

Recent Impact Acceleration Initiatives

Strategy Strategic Partnership

Project

Interplay Learning and Orijin partnered to bring skilled trades training to justice-impacted individuals and are planning to leverage ECMC VR headset to conduct pilots

Goal New Products/Market Expansion: Establish onramps into living wage careers in the skilled trades industry

Objectives & Outcomes

• Interplay Learning and Orijin have signed a one-year pilot partnership, with intent to drive toward a multi-year deal

• EIF is helping Interplay and Orijin prioritize individuals closest to reentry to maximize placement outcomes

Strategy Learning

Project EIF is partnering with Kyron to better understand the market opportunity in higher education through detailed market segmentation research and conducting targeted focus groups

Goal Market Segmentation/Growth Strategy: Identify the impact value proposition for Kyron’s platform across higher ed

Objectives & Outcomes

• Created HE segmentation database to help prioritize institutional models

• Led focus groups/customer discovery meetings with multiple universities to better understand student, instructor and institutional needs

• Shared insights and business development opportunities

Strategy Strategic Partnership

Project

ECMC Foundation is co-funding1 the development of a studentfacing platform to improve community college transfer outcomes in North Carolina

Goal Business Development/Impact: Create new transfer pathways by transforming the articulation process

Objectives & Outcomes

• Recruit 12 two- and four-year institutions to support the design of the platform

• Increase the number of articulations between North Carolina community colleges and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities

IMPACT ACCELERATION SPOTLIGHT: IMPACT STEERING GROUP

Challenge

Mission-driven companies often have separate impact reporting requirements across their investor base. As a result, companies are unable to focus on the metrics most closely tied to their value propositions or prioritize conversations about improving their actual approach to delivering impact, limiting opportunities for investors to lean in further to support the evolution of the business model.

Objective

Create a Board-level forum that enables companies and their investors to work collaboratively on the most relevant impact objectives, metrics and opportunities that will accelerate both impact outcomes and financial returns.

While piloting today, we will look for opportunities to leverage this approach across the rest of the EIF portfolio to better streamline this process for companies and amplify impact outcomes and narratives to help scale growth.

Value Add

• Stronger collaboration on company reporting to provide a clearer message on performance and alignment on recommendations

• Opportunities to maximize the use of collective resources and networks to amplify and accelerate impact

• Collection of insights and perspectives to inform investment theses and increase rigor across the impact investing industry

Key Responsibilities

• Establish a consistent review process for impact data

• Partner with leadership teams to establish impact goals and key milestones

• Recommend strategies for accelerating impact and collaborate on key impact projects or initiatives, including but not limited to:

• Developing thought leadership and the ability to leverage the collective brand equity

• Identifying and facilitating opportunities to engage in research, pilots or case studies that provide evidence of impact and articulate or create value propositions that drive business growth

• Remain up to date on impact measurement and management frameworks and strategies, incorporating them when necessary

VOICES OF IMPACT

SELECT QUOTES FROM PORTFOLIO CEOS

Aligning our fund with mission-driven founders, CEOs and teams establishes deep partnerships grounded in a clear vision for impact.

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Mallory Dwinal-Palisch Founder & CEO

Removing Barriers to Completion

Jackson Boyar Co-Founder & Chairman

Fueling Career Success

Gautam Tambay Co-Founder & CEO

“We work with school districts to take high potential individuals that they’ve identified around their building…who that school has said, ‘Hey, see this person working every day with my student? They would be a great teacher.’…[We] turn that job that they have into an apprenticeship that confers college credits.”

“Schools are no longer just asking about the ROI of their investments, but the IMPACT of their investment. Amid a loneliness epidemic, and unacceptable completion rates for all kinds of institutions and training programs, 8% increases in sense of belonging and 5% increases in persistence show the real impact of leveraging Mentor Collective.”

“…Today’s average 25-year-old is going to have a job in 20 years that doesn’t even exist yet because the shelf life of skills has gone down so much…Every time you’ve seen one of these massive revolutions, like the internet revolution, it creates job growth but it’s a different category of jobs that exist. This is why upskilling is so crucial. Short bursts of training can give you the skills you need to succeed in the future job market…”

SELECT QUOTES FROM PORTFOLIO CEOS

Aligning our fund with mission-driven founders, CEOs and teams establishes deep partnerships grounded in a clear vision for impact.

Doug Donovan CEO

Eleanor Cooper Founder & CEO

Chris Keaveney Founder & CEO

“Interplay Academy’s Job-Ready Certificate Programs represent a significant leap forward in skilled trades education where there is a shortage of qualified skilled labor. Our holistic approach provides a direct pathway to jobreadiness, empowering educators and workforce development program administrators with the tools needed to pave the way to future careers for learners.”

“Pathstream transforms today’s frontline workers into tomorrow’s future-ready talent, unlocking exceptional performance from leaders to associates and everyone in between.”

“Meritize continues to show that students are more than their credit scores… we have created access to skills-based training for thousands by looking beyond credit to their academic and military achievements…We are beyond excited to continue to scale our business and help more and more skill-seekers achieve the next rung on the socio-economic ladder.”

Fueling Career Success

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Revolutionizing Skill Development

SELECT QUOTES FROM PORTFOLIO CEOS

Aligning our fund with mission-driven founders, CEOs and teams establishes deep partnerships grounded in a clear vision for impact.

Removing Barriers to Completion

Rajen Sheth Co-Founder & CEO

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

David Heiber Founder & CEO

“Kyron Learning is looking to provide equitable access to high-quality 1:1 teaching to all learners. We empower educators with AI to extend themselves to help students where they need help, and students get a guided, discussion-based video lesson designed by an educator to interactively help them understand a concept.”

“No one student situation, no one family situation is the same and you have to approach it one door, one student at a time, and really understand the students and the families from their perspective. All too often in education, we speak of our perspective as adults.”

SELECT QUOTES FROM LEARNERS ACROSS THE PORTFOLIO

Stories of impact illuminate the importance of investing in impact-oriented solutions that are changing lives and removing barriers to outcomes.

Removing Barriers to Completion

“It is important to give people ways to work through that academic planning anxiety, make sure that they can just take that deep breath and say, ‘OK…I’m set; I’m good; I’ve got this.’ Stellic really helped me with that.”

Revolutionizing Skill Development

“With a bartender diploma in hand, I have secured more contracts than I had before, and people have more confidence in my work because I have a diploma that I actually studied for.”

Revolutionizing Skill Development

“I was so determined to build that bridge to a job… After 40 years of living in the city, after so many years of being dehumanized, it was the Orijin program certificates that got me out of prison one year early…And because of those certificates, get that job in LA county.”

“My advice is to trust the Pathstream process. This is the best program the customer service, the attention to the people and the practicality to real life.”

Fueling Career Success

Student at Red Deer Polytechnic

Learner enrolled to develop their career

Incarcerated individual in Washington D.C.

Amazon warehouse associate

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

81% of EIF portfolio companies saw an increase in reach YOY with a median increase of 38%, serving ~7M learners in 2023

Unlocking Equitable Pathways

200K students served

Revolutionizing Skill Development

~46K learners seeking economic mobility

Removing Barriers to Completion

6K+ students enrolled for degree progress

Fueling Career

Success

2K+ matched mentees

~3K teacher apprentices

625K+ caregivers served

8K+ impact disbursements

~1.8M Pell Grant students served

2.4K+ supervisees in mental shortage areas

~91K skilled trades learners served

~96K first-gen students served

200+ apprentices served

290K students served

~33K frontline workers served

~3K learners with less than a bachelor’s degree

160 facility partners

~67% of EIF portfolio companies saw an improvement in efficacy metrics YoY, demonstrating their compounding ability to deliver high-impact, long-term outcomes.

Select Portfolio Outputs

~6K students who completed courses

Outcomes

83% overall course success rate (i.e., students receiving a grade of C or higher)

612K CEU credits obtained

~108K mentee/mentor pairs connected three or more times a year

8K+ impact disbursements

96% overall pass rate across OSHA 10, EPA 608 and NATE

27K insight flags reported (i.e., a challenge or an issue that a mentee is facing)

2.9x ROI on program costs

56K hours of supervision in mental health shortage areas 14-point increase in Supervisor NPS

~22M course explorations on the platform

6M student decisions supported on the platform

~53% of EIF portfolio companies improved key economic efficiency metrics while sustaining or increasing their impact on learners and workers.

Select Drivers of Scalable Impact

Implement new sales model to align coverage ratios to growth opportunities Streamlined R&D processes to focus on learner experience Leveraging GenAI and other technology features to reduce time-to-value

Implemented new Operating and Success plans to provide clarity on the ROI of expenses

Reduced burn multiple by .4x while maintain high completion (92%) and success rates (83%)

OPEX/Revenue improved by ~60%+ while helping learners achieve a 96% overall exam pass rate and delivering a +6 NPS Growth

Revenue per FTE increased by ~34% while helping to reduce withdrawal rates of Pell students by up to 50%

Achieved net positive monthly burn while increasing the number of student decisions supported by 253%

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Partnering to increase access to skill-trades education, establish flexible onramps into the workforce and increase entrepreneurial behavior.

Challenge

The Centro Educativo Latino (CEL) workforce development program at Lenoir Community College (LCC) was looking to scale and expand trades education access for the Latino community. The students in the program needed flexible and affordable learning formats, and CEL wanted to ensure students were receiving a modernized approach to credentialing and other employability certifications for the HVAC industry.

Solution

CEL partnered with Interplay to serve an average of 120 students per semester and support their hybrid model to fit the needs of parents and individuals who were working full-time. Integrating Interplay’s trades training elevated the impact of its 200+ hour associate degree program, incorporating immersive learning experiences and bridging the gap between theory and practice. Additionally, the hybrid instructional model has acted as supplemental support for program instructors, enabling their main HVAC instructor to expand his mentorship and impact to more students.

Testimonials

“When students show up to local employers with three community college certificates, NATE, the State EPA certification, and a portfolio of about 34 Interplay HVAC certificates, the employer says to us, ‘We need more of these people.’ So we stay well-connected and funnel our students into the workforce when they meet employers' qualifications.”

Associate dean of workforce development and Latino programs

Results

Program graduation rate

Of students graduated with the NATE Core certification and state EPA Of students went on to start their own trade business

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Empowering student success and retention.

Challenge

OSU Institute of Technology (OSUIT) student services team was burned with high turnover at a time when students demanded more frequent communications. With an inefficient CRM system and only one staff member with insufficient formal training dedicated to student success/retention, the OSUIT team needed a solution that could amplify their engagement efforts without overburdening their limited resources.

Solution

OSUIT partnered with Mainstay to implement a text-based engagement strategy through an AI-power chatbot, named “Pistol Pete,” to increase staff support to improve retention. Mainstay leveraged its researchbacked knowledge base and proven scripts to fit the school’s specific needs by incorporating 1,000+ insights into OSUIT’s retention campaigns.

Testimonials

“Students feel comfortable connecting and responding to Pistol Pete because Pete is a non-judgmental oasis for resources.”

Administrator on OSUIT’s student services team

Results

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Challenge

By 2030, Allegion wants to expand the diversity of talent in people manager roles and become a leader in IT hiring. Recognizing that this goal must be backed by creating intentional learning pathways and support structures that meet the needs of diverse populations, Allegion needed a partner to help launch an apprenticeship program. More specifically, Allegion wanted to address the fact that 79% of family-sustaining jobs require a four-year degree,1 yet in Indiana, 81% of Black talent does not have one.2

Solution

NEW Apprenticeship partnered with Allegion to help strategize and define the appropriate roles for a comprehensive apprenticeship program that would provide pre-employment training, ongoing coaching, clear development plans and access to credentials to drive continued wage uplift.

Developing a pipeline of diverse talent and improving communities through apprenticeships. Of apprentices identified as underrepresented in tech Of apprentices had only completed high school

Testimonials

“I’ve long been a champion for hiring non-traditional talent and have seen the impact it has brought on my team. This apprenticeship program creates opportunities for other Allegion managers to experience the same benefits by providing the structure and support for apprentices to jump into open roles and start contributing.”

Results

Allegion Director

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Providing individuals who are incarcerated access to quality preparation for high school equivalency diplomas.

Challenge

Pressing staffing issues from teacher preparation to a need for personalized learning created enormous challenges for the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) as they sought to help incarcerated individuals complete the necessary 12 hours of review time mandatory for the high school equivalency exam. As a result, NMCD found itself significantly behind in meeting its goal of 165 HiSET or GED graduations by the end of June 2023, having only 21 learners pass the HiSET exam as of January 2023.

Solution

NMCD partnered with Orijin to provide scalable professional development to educators and implement a hybrid classroom model supported by the Orijin-powered tablets and learning platform. Cohorts of learners cycled in and out of the classroom to use Orijin to complete the required HiSET review time and leveraged the computer adaptive program to learn at their desired pace and according to their skill level. Orijin also helped free up valuable time for teachers to spend more one-on-one time with learners who required additional support.

Testimonials

“Orijin helped us surpass our goals by expanding our staff’s bandwidth and scaling up access to evidence-based education and training. Unlike one-size-fits-all offerings, Orijin tailors their solution to meet our goals and those of our learners.”

Results

Increase of HiSET graduations in just five months

Number of hours of learning completed throughout Orijin

Number of NMCD staff trained to support HiSET Academy

Reentry division director

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Transforming frontline jobs into career-building opportunities worth staying for.

Challenge

High turnover was a universal challenge Amazon faced with its large frontline workforce and relying on monetary rewards was not a sustainable or effective approach. Recognizing the critical need to attract and retain hundreds of thousands of employees across their warehouse, delivery and operations teams, Amazon needed to provide intrinsic motivation and foster a culture of personal and professional development.

Solution

Amazon partnered with Pathstream to bring its Career Mobility solution across 10 warehouse facilities. Participating employees were able to leverage their tuition assistance benefit to enroll in coursework to develop the skills they needed for their desired career path, and the programs were delivered on a flexible schedule outside of working hours, allowing employees to continue their full-time work without disruption.

Testimonials

“[Amazon] wants its employees to thrive. They are looking for innovators, entrepreneur-like minds and employees to think big…I went from managing one small unit to four and now nine. I got this promotion because I did exactly what I learned through Pathstream.”

Warehouse employee

Results

Number of employees who received access to Pathstream’s Career Mobility solution

Of enrolled participants completed Pathstream programming Of

IMPACT CASE STUDIES

Driving skill growth to help the marketing team address strategic concerns around data-driven decision-making.

Challenge

To achieve the marketing department’s long-term goals, several skills gaps across the team needed to be addressed. HP had access to ample data, but its marketers were not actively leveraging it. HP leadership wanted their marketers to use data to drive better outcomes, such as reducing customer acquisition costs and churn, increasing the customer base, and improving lifetime values.

Solution

HP partnered with Springboard to meet the various needs for upskilling the marketing team, such as: driving significant skills growth, improving employee morale and establishing better work habits. Through Springboard’s programming, HP was able to train marketers to be more strategic, leveraging skills that range from problem identification, analysis and synthesis to communication and visualization.

Testimonials

“Through the projects, I was made aware of several key insights with significant revenue implications that could change the direction of critical initiatives for our team. These wouldn’t have come to light without the clear, data-driven problem-solving approach in this program.”

Global head of search marketing

Results

in problem definition and framing

in communication through tailored storylines

learners

extremely satisfied with their mentor

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Impact Thesis

Joshua Pierce Chairman and Co-Founder

David Daniels President & CEO

Headquarters Austin, TX

Luis Rincon Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Theme Removing Barriers to Completion

Stage Series B

Vision

Problem

Remove the barriers to persistence to provide all students with an affordable, frictionless pathway to completion

~43% of credits are lost on average when students transfer and ~ 33% of students are unable to access the courses that they need during the semester they need them. This creates barriers to completing a degree on time, especially for the most marginalized students

Approach

Alignment

Acadeum is a marketplace that enables networks of academic institutions and enterprise partners to share courses and help learners access empty seats in quality accredited online courses and degrees with a guaranteed transfer of credit.

Acadeum is deeply focused on the impact of their platform, measuring not only completion rates but also the percentage of students passing courses, ensuring they are on a path to completion. With a particular focus on HBCUs and MSIs, Acadeum not only ensures equitable outcomes, but also helps the most under-resourced schools improve retention and recoup tuition leading to a virtuous cycle of impact and financial returns

Impact

Students Served HBCU and MSI Partners Success Rate1 Of students served identify as BIPOC

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Martin Claure Founder & CEO

Vision

Impact Thesis

Unlock the Hispanic community’s potential, and turn their interests into income by helping them start a new business or career

Problem

Over the next decade, the Hispanic community will grow to represent 21% of the workforce. However, this community is overrepresented in industries susceptible to technological disruption and therefore needs better access to skills and training that will meaningfully change their economic mobility.1

Approach

Headquarters Coral Gables, FL

Theme Revolutionizing Skill Development

Stage Series A

Alignment

Aprende provides access to affordable entrepreneurial, vocational and educational programs that address the unique needs of the Hispanic workforce.

Aprende’s programs and platform are intentionally designed with the learner’s experience in mind, ensuring the highest likelihood of completing their courses and achieving their personal learning objectives. Learner success will lead to higher rates of repeat purchases and referrals.

Impact

Impact Thesis

Helen Adeosun Founder & CEO

Headquarters Boston, MA

Theme Revolutionizing Skill Development

Stage Series B

Vision

Problem

Improve the future of quality healthcare by increasing access to well-trained and compassionate caregivers for elderly Americans

While the government and healthcare systems try to redesign treatment and rein in costs through expanding in-home care delivery, this critical workforce experiences high turnover rates since caregivers lack the training to overcome the barriers to remaining in these roles long term.1

Approach

CareAcademy provides scalable, mobile-first online training and credentialing to help agencies prepare caregivers for the unique needs of their patients. This helps establish confident and engaged workers who are motivated to grow in their healthcare career.

Alignment

CareAcademy enables workers to upskill over time, promoting career growth for workers while also improving its customers’ and caregiver employers’ abilities to grow their businesses.

Impact

Mohannad Arbaji Founder & CEO

Headquarters Brooklyn, NY

Theme Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Stage Seed

Impact Thesis

Vision

Problem

Help every district provide personalized education to their most vulnerable learners in order to drastically improve graduation and matriculation rates

The pandemic revealed a need for meeting students where they are and empowering teachers to address various levels of academic achievement and manage the social-emotional dynamics in the classroom in order to ensure that all student succeed and graduate.1

Approach

Alignment

ChalkTalk streamlines the process of identifying student baselines and structuring customized lesson plans and interventions to help improve all students’ math and ELA achievement.

ChalkTalk’s platform is designed to help teachers achieve a higher return on instruction and, in doing so, provide personalized learning to drive success for all students and help districts reach their literacy and numeracy objectives. Creating this win-win-win outcome should also drive financial success for ChalkTalk over time.

Impact

Total students served 200k Schools served

Impact Thesis

Headquarters Nashville, TN

Theme Unlocking Equitable Pathways Stage Seed

Vision

Problem

Enhance the impact of apprenticeship models by providing a data infrastructure that can power 10 million apprenticeship degrees in the United States

Employers are turning to apprenticeship degrees to address vacancies and establish strong talent pipelines, but despite the amount of federal funding available, they lack the data resources to overcome the administrative challenges of scaling these programs.1

Approach

Alignment

Craft helps employers manage the myriad of data points necessary to access WIOA funding and launch apprenticeship programs. Craft also leverages this data to support state-level labor strategies.

As a co-founder of leading teaching apprenticeship provider, Reach University, CEO Mallory DwinalPalisch recognized data analytics and reporting as an inhibitor to scaling apprenticeships. Craft’s software will provide momentum for apprenticeship programs and help dramatically reduce the cost of obtaining credentials for all apprentices.

Impact

Apprentices served No. of Active States Of current apprentices identify as BIPOC Admin CSAT

Mallory Dwinal-Palisch Founder & CEO

Impact Thesis

Doug Donovan CEO Headquarters

Austin, TX

Theme Revolutionizing Skill Development Stage Series C

Vision

Increase the pool of skilled trades workers and improve their economic mobility by dramatically reducing the time to mastery of in-demand skills that lead to high-quality employment

Problem

The skilled trades industry faces a persistent shortage of workers driven by an aging workforce and lack of interest among younger generations.1

Approach

Alignment

Interplay Learning provides on-demand, immersive learning environments with an extensive catalog that helps employers and workforce development organizations train and upskill trades workers, as well as provides access to digital offerings that help vocational schools attract younger generations and individual learners gain the skills needed to enter an industry.

Interplay Learning’s authoring tool enables it to develop low-cost simulations that provide a costeffective training platform for its customers, helping it scale training programs and increase access to more workers and learners over time. Interplay Learning pairs these simulations with an AI coach and other mentorship supports to ensure learners complete training, ensuring its partners and the individual learners realize their goals and see a return on their investment.

Impact

Andrew Magliozzi CEO

Headquarters Boston, MA

Theme Removing Barriers to Completion

Stage Series B

Impact Thesis

Vision Drive $1 trillion in economic mobility through college completion and career advancement

Problem

Low-income, minority and first-gen students are the most susceptible to summer melt due to a lack of support when navigating the administrative and financial obstacles to enroll in college and remain enrolled throughout their college careers.1

Approach

Alignment

Mainstay makes it easy for colleges to start and measure meaningful conversations that drive action at scale and ultimately improve student outcomes through an AI-powered educational messaging platform.

Mainstay ensures that its higher education partners are equipped with the tools such as best-practice calendars to successfully increase student engagement. The calendars ensure institutions see a return on their investment in the platform, as increased chatbot engagement continues to show a positive impact on matriculation and retention.

Impact

Cumulative no. of students engaged Of students received Pell Grants Reduction in withdrawal rate for Pell students Campaigns supported

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Impact Thesis

Boyar Co-Founder & Chairman

Vision

Problem

Leverage the power of peer-to-peer engagement to close the equity gap and increase the number of low-income students graduating from college

Research continues to show that minority students are less likely to complete their degree1 due to a lower sense of belonging2 driven by limited mental health support and a lack of preparation.3 That makes it difficult for these students to persist and complete their degree.

Approach

Headquarters Boston, MA

Theme Removing Barriers to Completion Stage Series A

Alignment

Mentor Collective facilitates large-scale, multi-pronged peer and mentor engagements throughout students' college careers that provide unique insights into how to support students and direct them to the right campus resources to ensure a greater sense of belonging.

Paired with institution-specific program design support, Mentor Collective’s platform allows universities to reach all students, particularly those most vulnerable to drop out or leave, helping improve enrollment and retention strategies.

Jackson

Erin Mayhood CEO

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Impact Thesis

Chris Motley Founder & CEO

Denver, CO

Fueling Career Success

Seed

Vision

Problem

Leverage the power of conversations to remove barriers to knowledge and resources that increase the social capital for students of color and improve employment outcomes

Research shows that a vast majority of jobs are filled through networking,1 but diverse and low-income learners lack access to the relationships and knowledge necessary to obtain high-quality employment and feel confident on the job.2

Approach

Mentor Spaces facilitates conversations of students of color and early career professionals with mentors of similar backgrounds employed at notable corporate partners, helping students identify evergreen career opportunities.

Alignment

Mentor Spaces builds strong partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs and other nonprofit organizations that specifically support students of color, supplying employers with a diverse pipeline and better line of sight to a return on their diversity recruiting efforts.

Impact

72%

% of Mentees who increased social capital

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Impact Thesis

Chris Keaveney Founder & CEO

Headquarters Frisco, TX

Theme Unlocking Equitable Pathways

Stage Series C

Vision

Problem

Reduce the U.S. skills gap and unlock the potential of underserved learners through access to affordable financing

Only half of the labor force has access to the training programs needed to address the persistent skills gaps in the economy,1 and the cost of postsecondary education and workforce training programs is a considerable barrier to matriculation and completion for underrepresented learners.

Approach

Alignment

Meritize leverages a holistic credit evaluation that includes past academic or military achievements to increase access to financing for skills-based training programs.

Meritize targets learners and educational institutions that traditional lenders such as Sallie Mae won’t serve based on the length of the program or their cosigner requirements. Meritize also looks to partner with institutions with high graduation and completion rates, delivering an attractive ROI for their underserved learners and helping improve loan performance.

Impact

Impact Thesis

Vision Solve the shortage of mental health therapists in the United States

Problem

Roughly 50% of the U.S. population lives within a mental health workforce shortage area. As a result, nearly 60% of practitioners serving patients with anxiety and depression no longer have openings for new patients.1 Many would-be providers never become licensed due to onerous and costly supervision rules.

Approach

Headquarters Atlanta, GA

Theme Removing Barriers to Completion Stage Series A

Alignment

Motivo makes it easy for pre-licensed therapists and counselors to get access to clinical supervisors, helping them complete the supervision hours necessary to obtain a license.

By facilitating virtual supervision, Motivo expands the reach of clinical supervisors and enables them to serve therapists living in mental health shortage areas for a fraction of the cost and time it would take through traditional methods, incentivizing more agencies and therapists to utilize the platform.

Impact

therapist are in mental health shortage area Hours of Supervision in Mental Health Shortage Areas

Rachel McCrickard CEO & Co-Founder

Mike Chen CTO & Co-Founder

PORTFOLIO PROFILES

Brad Voeller Founder & CEO

Impact Thesis

Vision Launch the first-ever tech employer consortium that hires apprentices on behalf of its members

Problem

Women and people of color make up a very small portion of the U.S. tech labor force.1 Despite an increased focus and investment in diversity initiatives,2 companies struggle to find the diverse talent to fill these gaps as these learners and workers matriculate and complete STEM degrees at a much lower rate.3

Approach

San Antonio, TX

Alignment

NEW Apprenticeship provides pre-apprenticeship training and ongoing student support to reduce the barriers for learners seeking to enter the tech labor force.

NEW Apprenticeship’s pre-apprenticeship training ensures all learners get the necessary preparation to be successful during the apprenticeship program, empowering underrepresented and low-income learners to complete apprenticeship programs, unlocking Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding for these learners and helping employers realize a return on their talent investments.

Impact

Impact Thesis

CEO Arti Finn Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Headquarters New York, NY Theme Revolutionizing Skill Development Stage Series C

Vision Prepare 100,000 justice-impacted individuals to secure a living-wage job post-incarceration by 2025

Problem

Over 600,000 people transition from prison to society each year,1 but many lack the requisite education and training that would address the high unemployment rates faced by these individuals and drastically reduce their likelihood of recidivism.2

Approach

Orijin platform provides justice-impacted individuals with the tools and education resources necessary for building career readiness skills that will support successful reentry and position them for high-quality employment opportunities.

Alignment

Orijin is a public benefit corporation (PBC) and certified B-Corporation based on a philosophy that never charges incarcerated individuals or their friends and families for its technology or services.

Harris Ferrell

PROFILES

Impact Thesis

Cooper Founder & CEO

Headquarters San Francisco, CA Theme Fueling Career Success

Vision

Provide access to career advancement opportunities that result in significant wage uplift for the U.S. frontline workforce

Problem

Approach

Employers are struggling to retain their frontline workers, largely due to an inability to provide career advancement opportunities and the requisite skill development to ensure these workers have a pathway to long-term career success.1

Pathstream’s platform provides employer-specific career mobility pathways that address the unique needs of the frontline workforce, helping workers set clear goals for career development and target a set of skills that will ultimately lead to significant wage uplift.

Alignment

Series A 95%

Pathstream has designed a product that helps employers create unique programs based on their workforce’s goals and the related skills gaps within the organization, increasing visibility into their internal pipelines and helping them provide the support and mentorship frontline workers need to complete programs that directly lead to advancement opportunities that improve retention, reducing the high cost of turnover.

Impact

Of workers hit their career success goals

Eleanor

Impact Thesis

Headquarters San Francisco, CA

Theme Removing Barriers to Completion

Stage Series A

Vision

Problem

Empower all students to make informed decisions throughout their learning journeys and equip them with the tools to unlock their full potential and have the best possible experiences and outcomes

Across the higher education landscape, attempts to improve college completion rates have stalled, with research showing that students are earning roughly 75% of the credits they need each semester to remain on track for graduation.1

Approach

Alignment

Stellic’s degree management platform empowers students to choose the best-fit courses and create an optimal plan for graduation, allowing advisors more bandwidth for deeper student support at scale.

Stellic’s platform provides key insights into course and faculty demand. This allows administrators to optimize their resources based on the needs of all learners and proactively identify potential bottlenecks to student success, leading to an attractive ROI on their enrollment and retention strategies.

Sabih Bin Wasi Co-Founder & CEO

Rukhsar Neyaz Co-Founder & COO

Impact Thesis

Vision Prepare students for the tech industry’s most in-demand careers to transform 1 million lives by 2030

Tambay Co-Founder & CEO

Problem

Approach

Adult learners lack access to affordable training that offers relevant skills and proper student support for in-demand tech careers, and many existing bootcamps and career programs have inconsistent student outcomes or high costs.

Springboard is taking a human-centric approach to career training, combining rigorous program curricula with high touch 1:1 mentorship, career coaching, and tech-enabled student support, all ensuring learners remain on track for course completion and are prepared to succeed in their field.

Alignment

Springboard’s model uses a scholarship program and job guarantee to ensure all learners can be served and outcomes are tied to business success.

Impact

Gautam