March 17 2021

Thanks to the Constellation Fund for its Major Investment in Our Career & College Centers

Constellation Fund logo

Our tremendous thanks to the Constellation Fund for its generous $100,000 grant for our Career & College Centers (CCCs) in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). These funds will support the expansion and refinement of our MPS school-based career and college readiness programming, which is available to all students in 11 MPS high schools. 

Our CCCs provide expert, personalized 1:1 and small group advising to students and foster a future-oriented career and college culture at each school. AchieveMpls also serves the unique role as a strategic thought partner with MPS district leaders and individual schools as we collaborate to create and implement systems of career and college readiness programming. Students who utilize our CCC services enroll in postsecondary programs at a 51% higher rather than those who do not, even controlling for other predictive factors such as grades, attendance and other factors.    

In addition, the Constellation Fund will also partner with AchieveMpls staff to develop fundraising and communications plans that support the expansion of our CCCs in Saint Paul Public Schools.

The Constellation Fund invests in organizations that demonstrably raise the living standards of individuals living in poverty in the Twin Cities, and focuses on four key issue areas, including education, employment, health and housing. Working with economists and research organizations, Constellation leverages the power of analytics to carefully measure poverty-fighting improvements that nonprofits are making in their communities. It draws on peer-reviewed research, local demographic information and data from nonprofits to conduct careful benefit-cost analyses, and also incorporates thoughtful qualitative evaluations, such as the quality of a nonprofit’s leadership and on-the-ground insights about community needs.

Learn more about the Constellation Fund's work in the Twin Cities.