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Over the last two years, the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) have worked alongside Third Sector to develop projects that finance evidence-based services to improve student outcomes to and through college. Collectively, these efforts are known as the Partnerships to Achieve Student Success (PASS) initiative and have been philanthropically supported by the ECMC Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

PASS aims to launch two pilot pay for success (PFS) projects that will forge direct funding relationships between public systems of higher education and

DENVER – April 6, 2021:  The Colorado Department of Higher Education’s (CDHE) Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) and One Million Degrees (OMD) today announced the launch of “Finish What You Started,” a two-year pilot program providing wraparound support services for low-income Adams County, Colorado adults, aged 25+, to obtain college credentials or degrees. OMD will work closely with COSI, community-based organizations, and local college partners to recruit and enroll 150-200 students and measure outcomes, persistence towards degree completion, and improved earnings in the workforce.
 
With $300,000 in funding from COSI’s Pay for Success Community Partnership Program,

America’s need for government agility has become increasingly urgent in 2020. As most of us are reminded by our daily realities, this year has brought fresh examples of the horrors and costs of systemic racism, devastating natural disasters, and a global pandemic accompanied by employment and financial crises. However, amidst the outrage and fear about [...]

The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the growing movement for stronger partnerships between philanthropy and government, with increasing calls for philanthropy to invest in training government employees and leaders who are in critical positions, help governments identify and attract top talent, and support the creation or expansion of positions that fill specific skill gaps. The critical question for government agencies and foundations seeking to implement this strategy is how to put it into practice.

The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), in partnership with Third Sector, have started work on a first of its kind initiative to leverage Pay for Success (PFS) to improve retention and completion outcomes for underrepresented students. The Partnerships to Achieve Student Success (PASS) initiative aims to [...]

In February 2019, with generous support from The Kresge Foundation, Third Sector launched the Pay for Success (PFS) in Higher Education National Cohort — a first-in-the-nation cohort of public systems of higher education, college access and success providers, and funders — to use PFS as a way to systematically fund wraparound student support services that [...]