Jobs For Maine's Graduates Inc.
The Foundation hears from many of our education partners on the front lines that the social, emotional, and financial barriers facing today’s young people are numerous and increasingly complex, threatening to derail even the most resilient students. To help address these challenges, the Foundation has partnered with Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG), a student-centered, results-driven organization offering a continuum of student support services from middle school to college and on to meaningful careers.
In 2014, with Harold Alfond Foundation support and in partnership with Thomas College, JMG launched the College Success program. Early outcomes captured the attention of Maine’s legislature, and in 2016, Public Law 466 mandated JMG as a partner of the community college and university system.
More information as provided by our partner:
JMG’s mission is to identify students who face barriers to education, and to guide each one on to a successful path toward continued education, a meaningful career, and productive adulthood. In partnership with public education and private businesses, JMG serves 9,000 students in more than 130 programs, in all 16 counties. In addition to delivering competency-based life and career skills, all of JMG’s programs host a student-led Career Association.
In 2014, with Harold Alfond Foundation support, JMG began College Success in partnership with Thomas College. Early outcomes captured the attention of Maine’s legislature, and in 2016, Public Law 466 mandated JMG as a partner of the community college and university system. Maine is the first state to enact via a statute a public/private collaboration to ensure students complete postsecondary education with the explicit purpose of career attainment.
In 2018, as JMG was approaching its 25th anniversary, the Harold Alfond Foundation announced a $4.5 million grant to JMG. The sum of $1.5 million of the Harold Alfond Foundation gift was awarded as a matching challenge grant supporting a $5 million endowment campaign launched by JMG to ensure long-term sustainability. JMG’s endowment was seeded with a $500,000 gift from Maine philanthropist Paul Coulombe. The remaining $3 million of the Harold Alfond Foundation investment is supporting expansion of JMG’s College Success Program over five years, including the addition of post-secondary navigators. The program is now being delivered on 10 campuses, serving students enrolled at Thomas College, and in Maine’s community college and university systems.
The College Success Program is a comprehensive post-secondary preparation, bridging, and credential completion program that starts in high school and continues seamlessly through the college. The expansion of the model means JMG is the only statewide nonprofit providing a continuum of support to students from middle school, into high school, through post-secondary education and into meaningful careers.
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