Community Giving
Investing in our Madison, Wisconsin, community makes us all stronger.
Ascendium Gives Back
Giving back to the place we call home is a priority for us. We collaborate with local organizations to understand and address the challenges and opportunities facing the Madison community. With their input, we fund education and job training programs that align with current labor market needs, focusing on historically underserved populations. By equipping these community members with essential knowledge and skills, we help them reach their full potential, which strengthens the community as a whole.
Recent Gifts
Establishing Sustained Funding for an Impactful Program
Amount: $2,000,000 | Date: August 2025
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County works together with local businesses, foundations, and community programs to produce positive outcomes for thousands of young people and their families. Their mission is to inspire and empower all young people to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring adults.
A $2 million gift from Ascendium will support their AVID/TOPS (Advancement Via Individual Determination/Teens of Promise) endowment, ensuring long-term sustainability for one of the community’s most impactful college and career readiness programs. Since 2008, AVID/TOPS has served more than 3,200 youth and serves more than 1,400 students annually in postsecondary programs.
GOOD NEIGHBOR GRANTS
While Ascendium is based in Madison, Wisconsin, we have employees who work remotely across the country. To capitalize on the deep knowledge our employees have of their communities, we created the Good Neighbor Grants program. Under this program, employees nominate and vote for local organizations that are going above and beyond to create education and workforce training opportunities. The top 40 vote-getters — 28 in the Madison-area and 12 in remote locations — receive a $25,000 grant from Ascendium to support their efforts.
Celebrating Culture, Advancing Opportunity
Amount: $626,000 | Date: June 2025
The Center for Black Excellence and Culture is a visionary community-led project designed to uplift Black voices and experiences through arts, culture, leadership development, and wellness. With support from over 1,200 donors — including more than 300 Black community members who helped launch the campaign — The Center has reached its $31 million capital campaign goal, ensuring a fully funded, debt-free construction.
Ascendium was honored to be one of The Center’s early lead donors with a $2.5 million gift in 2022, followed by a second contribution during the campaign’s final stretch to help complete the capital raise. Together, these investments support The Center’s opening and future programming focused on empowering Black communities in Madison, Wisconsin, and beyond.
Supporting Learners on Their Journeys
Amount: $200,000 | Date: September 2024
Fair Opportunity Project (Fair Opp) aims to ensure that learners from low-income and first-generation backgrounds have the tools to succeed in postsecondary education and workforce training. Through its School Boost program, Fair Opp offers personalized essay reviews, on-demand mentoring, and one-on-one FAFSA assistance to help students navigate complex application processes and secure financial aid.
With Ascendium’s support, Fair Opp is expanding its reach, providing more students with the guidance and resources they need to achieve their education and career goals and removing economic barriers that could hinder their success.
Removing Financial Barriers to Success
Amount: $175,000 | Date: June 2024
Many in our community, especially those who are unemployed, underemployed, or formerly incarcerated, face obstacles to improving their skills and finding stable, well-paying jobs. The Black Men Coalition of Dane County (BMC) is addressing this by collaborating with eCornell, the online learning platform of Cornell University. Through this collaboration, BMC provides free online professional certificate programs to hundreds of learners of low-income backgrounds each year, paving the way for a brighter future.
Support from Ascendium and co-funder Diane Endres Ballweg empowers BMC to expand its impact through education and skill development. Leveraging eCornell’s expertise, BMC helps participants gain valuable credentials, enhancing their employability and fostering community growth and resilience.
Our Commitment to Wisconsin
Over the years, we’ve leveraged our abilities, expertise, and resources to help learners in our home state of Wisconsin succeed. The resulting programs and initiatives are designated as our Wisconsin Covenant® to represent our commitment to Wisconsin.
Confidential Legal Help
Legal obstacles can prevent people from achieving their academic goals or pursuing certain career paths. Law for Learners connects Wisconsin learners with free, confidential legal help so they can overcome those obstacles and move forward with their life. Founded by Ascendium team members in 2019, Law for Learners is a collaboration between Wisconsin colleges, universities, community organizations, and legal service providers.
Apprentice Scholarships
Apprenticeships create pathways to family-sustaining jobs and offer the potential for lifetime career growth. However, they can be expensive. To help relieve financial pressures, Ascendium annually awards Tools of the Trade scholarships to eligible construction and industrial trade apprentices enrolled in a Wisconsin technical college. With these scholarships, apprentices can purchase the equipment, tools, and clothing they need to complete their training and secure an in-demand job.
Student Loan Help Hotline
Student loans can be confusing, especially with ever-changing federal rules and regulations. Unfortunately, scammers often take advantage of this confusion. That’s why the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt and Ascendium Education Solutions created the Wisconsin Student Loan Help Hotline in 2020. This free hotline provides reliable and comprehensive information to borrowers in Wisconsin, allowing them to understand their options and feel confident in their choices.
Going Beyond Our Community
Through our national philanthropy, we fund initiatives designed to change postsecondary education and workforce training systems. Our goal is to give more learners from low-income backgrounds the opportunity to succeed.
Getting Involved with Our Community
For Ascendium employees, giving back is more than just a saying. It's a way of life. They donate their time, talent and support to the communities where they live and work through Ascendium Cares, our employee giving program.
