Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation was created in 1994 by Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft, his wife Melinda, and his dad William Sr. The Foundation targets several areas, in many different countries across the world. The target in the United States is education.

The Gates Foundation sees education as “the great equalizer” among all people, of all races and economic levels. They remark that there is only one path out of poverty, and it is education. The overarching goal of the Foundation is to double the number of young people who earn a postsecondary degree or certificate by the time they reach age 26.

The United States program focuses on these areas:

• Increasing High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates – Their goal is to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and enter college. They especially want to target low-income, Hispanic, and African-American students.
• Increasing Attainment of Postsecondary Credentials – Their goal is to increase the postsecondary degree completion rates among the same target groups.
• Scholarships – They provide scholarships to the same target groups who historically have the most amount of trouble financing postsecondary education.
• Early Learning in Washington State – They want to ensure that all students will start kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. (The Foundation’s headquarters is in Seattle, Washington)
• U.S. Libraries – They help various public libraries by providing technology and services in low-income areas.

Several of the specific initiatives of the Gates Foundation are:

• Creation of smaller schools – It is well known that smaller classrooms result in student success. The Foundation has helped to fund inner city schools to help transition them into a small group setting.
• D.C. Achievers Scholarships – The Foundation provided several million dollars to help send some of the poorest students in DC to college.
• Gates Millennium Scholars – Administered by the United Negro College Fund, The Foundation donated US$1.5 billion in scholarship money to minority students.
• NewSchools Venture Fund – This funds several charter schools in historically underserved areas for college and careers.

The Foundation gave about $2.8 million in 2008.

Source

http://www.gatesfoundation.org

The Lumina Foundation

The Lumina Foundation is an organization dedicated to “individual opportunity, economic vitality and social stability”. It realizes this through seeking to improve the condition of higher education in the United States. It gives grants worth on average $250,000 to institutions and organizations that can help to meet its goals. Its primary focus is on post-secondary institutions, but it does award money to others that can help promote its goals. Lumina Foundation’s overarching goal is to increase the number of people who have a college degree up to 60% by 2025.

The Lumina Foundation currently has three focuses:

1. Increasing student preparedness in K-12 education – It seeks to bridge the gap between K-12 education and college. It funds programs to help students be more prepared for the demands of college, programs to help increase the awareness of college alternatives, and programs that promote financial information for students and families.
2. Increasing students’ likelihood of success while they’re in college – The new economy is based off knowledge and skills. Only individuals who are educated will be able to complete for jobs. The Foundation also seeks programs that help adults and people from all ethnic groups succeed in their educational goals.
3. Encouraging institutional productivity for colleges – The Foundation wants to reward schools that have high percentage of students who successfully complete their courses. It also wants to reward schools that are more efficient, as that will lead to student savings.

Part of the rationale for the Lumina Foundation’s rationale for grants is that the United States lags behind other industrialized countries. Canada has over 50% of its population attaining a college degree, while the US has 39% of its population with a degree. The US has a large disparity between college degree attainment and race. About one third of white students obtain a bachelors degree, while blacks have about half that rate, and Latinos have a rate about half again. It especially seeks to help promote equality between different populations.

Example grants that The Lumina Foundation has funded in the past include

From Soldier to Student: Easing the Transition of Service Members on Campus

Diplomas Count 2009: Broader Horizons: The Challenge of College Readiness for All Students

Getting Back on Track: Effects of a Community College Program for Probationary Students

Trends in College Spending: Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go?

And many, many more.

Source: http://www.luminafoundation.org