America needs clear paths to learning and success after high school that make the nation stronger and meet the needs of today’s student.

No matter where you come from, what you look like, or how much money your family has, you should have what you need to learn, grow, and thrive. Read more about Lumina’s Commitment to Racial Equity.

Lumina Foundation works in partnership with education and business leaders, civil rights organizations, policymakers, and individuals who want to reimagine how and where learning occurs.

AREAS OF FOCUS

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Justice for Today's Students
Policies, practices, and beliefs—rooted in history and still affecting people today—keep many Black, Native American, and Hispanic people from the education and skills they need.
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Our commitment to racial equity
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Lumina wants to ensure quality education for all Americans.
Find out how Lumina's efforts support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.
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Learn More About Lumina

The Nation’s Progress

The United States faces an urgent and growing need for talent. Many more people of all races, ethnicities, ages, and income levels will need college degrees, certificates, industry certifications, and other credentials of value to join or remain in the middle class.

Success Stories

Adult student standing in front of the Connecticut State Capitol where she works full time.
Focus Magazine
Personal connection helps atypical student find her place
Jean Rienzo is something of an anomaly at Eastern Connecticut State University. She’s a 32-year-old single mother who lives off campus and has a demanding full-time job—certainly not the typical student at a public liberal arts university in New England. Still, Rienzo found her place—and succeeded—with the help of a caring, kindred spirit: her advisor.
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Daniela Figueroa on her “new” campus at Florida International University.
Focus Magazine
Consistent guidance key in navigating the first-year fog
After sailing through high school, Daniela Figueroa almost ran aground during her first year at Miami Dade College. She was overwhelmed by the school’s size and the wide range of choices it presented. Fortunately, the college’s “appreciative advising” program—and the personal bond she forged with her advisor—put her back on course.
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Instructors Lorna Hofer and Kerry Stager sit across from one another at a table in a common campus area.
Focus Magazine
Two educators, a dual role, and a single mission
Lorna Hofer and Kerry Stager aren’t just instructors in business and accounting at Lake Area Technical College; they’re also highly involved advisors. Between them, Hofer and Stager keep close tabs on 80 students at the South Dakota college—not just academically, but personally. It’s a dual role embraced by every faculty member at Lake Area Tech.
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Featured News
COVID-masked woman peers into a microscope.
May 12, 2021
College students could see ‘generational’ benefit from pandemic support - if we do this right
By Terri Taylor
Federal emergency dollars for colleges and universities provide a generational opportunity – not only to respond to the pandemic, but to reimagine how institutions support current and prospective students. This is especially true for those who know that college can be helpful but aren’t sure how to fit it into their complex lives.
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Black, female student in COVID mask talking with a fellow student, and holding a notepad.
May 12, 2021
How to reach adult students? For starters, talk to them like adults
By Wendy Sedlak
How can colleges and universities reach and engage adult learners, who are quickly becoming a larger part of their student populations? The answer is: much differently than they did traditional students.
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A female floor worker inspects an automotive engine at an Indiana car plant.
May 12, 2021
Op-ed: Manufacturing tech is leaving Indiana behind. Here’s what we can do about it.
By Jamie Merisotis
A business story in The Washington Post caught my eye recently — and not just because it focused on Indiana. The geographic connection was interesting, but what mattered more was topicality.
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This photo shows a man welding.
May 10, 2021
States are using fast, short-term credentials to get workers back on their feet.
By Amber Garrison Duncan, Kermit Kaleba
In recent years, the debates about proposals to expand the federal Pell Grant program to pay for short-term workforce programs offered at community colleges have been lively. Several states have taken matters into their own hands, using federal stimulus dollars to provide aid to adult learners seeking short-term certificates and certifications. These state initiatives offer essential…
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A mother caring for her child.
May 9, 2021
This year, get Mom the gift that lasts: An education to help her succeed in the human work economy
By Jamie Merisotis, Zakiya Smith Ellis
On Mother’s Day we pause to consider the vital role women and mothers play in not just in our own lives, but in holding our society together. But in this unprecedented year, we should do more than celebrate and give thanks. In too many ways, the past year has been devastating for women — working…
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Woman in graduation mortar board raises her fist triumphantly toward the sunset.
May 5, 2021
Reflections on Lumina’s racial justice and equity journey
By Jamie Merisotis, Danette Howard
We are beyond fortunate to work for Lumina Foundation, a private philanthropy committed to making people’s lives better by expanding learning beyond high school. Ours is a critical mission—one that we believe inspires hope and seeks to make real the promise of the American dream.
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3 men work together in a factory setting
May 4, 2021
‘The Middle: Indianapolis’ – why the story of middle-class progress in the heartland matters
By Jamie Merisotis
The economic challenges we face can be seen in nearly every community across the nation, and in seeking to tell the story of those challenges—and what we can do about them—Indianapolis seemed the perfect place for a digital magazine examining the struggle to preserve one city's middle class amid a changing workplace.
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