Rise Prize

Congratulations to winners
of the Rise Prize!

Imaginable Futures and Lumina Foundation, along with ten leading partner organizations, are thrilled to announce the 15 winners of the Rise Prize.

A total of $1.55 million in combined prizes was awarded to innovative ideas and solutions with the greatest potential for impact in supporting the postsecondary success of student parents. Winners range from early-stage pilots to mature solutions across for-profit and nonprofit organizations, as well as higher education institutions.

The Rise Prize was launched in early 2020 to elevate the unique needs of student parents and increase the number of impactful and effective solutions accelerating their postsecondary success. The original award amount of $1 million to 10 organizations was increased to $1.55 million to 15 organizations, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in recognition of the added urgency to support student parents.

And the winners are…

Riser Choice Award

Risers’ Choice Award

$100,000 awarded to a winner selected by the two student parent judges who brought an authentic understanding to the challenges that student parents face.

College Unbound
Providence, RI
College Unbound provides a Bachelor’s Degree designed for working and parenting adults, where student passion drives learning and transformation, reframing life experiences and gaining real skills to realize and release student potential.
Riser Choice Award

Rising Star Award

$50,000 awarded to a winner that showed innovation in supporting the unique role of fathers as student parents.

Morehouse College
Fathers to the Finish Line
Atlanta, GA
Fathers to the Finish Line creates a platform for providing student parents with holistic support through access to resources, including mentorship, professional development/career readiness, and leadership training.
Early Stage

Early Stage

$50,000 awarded to each of the 8 early stage winners—newly launched ideas in pilot/market research mode

American Indian College Fund
"Ina wa wounspe pi"
(Mothers who are learning)
Denver, CO
A coaching program centered on Native students’ cultural identities, offering financial, academic progression, and career readiness supports for Native, first generation, single mothers in higher education.
Arizona State University
The ASU Sunnybot Student-Parent Program
Tempe, AZ
The Sunnybot Student-Parents Program enhances ASU's chatbot Sunny to support ASU student parents by connecting them with resources with the goal of increasing postsecondary success and completion.
BestFit
Atlanta, GA
BestFit is a web platform that empowers student parents to design their own social safety nets—providing a one-stop shop for on-campus, community, government, and philanthropic resources.
Bristol Community College
Parenting Advancement Pathways
Fall River, MA
Parenting Advancement Pathways (PAP) promotes economic mobility by providing holistic supports and skills to help low-income single parents from diverse backgrounds move toward economic independence.
Cell-Ed
1M Parent Learner Challenge
Palo Alto, CA
One Million Learners will gain essential skills for life, school and work for free with Cell-Ed—certifications and live coaching, co-created, used by, and designed with parent learners.
Everett Community College
Weekend College
Everett, WA
Weekend College for Parents is a holistic, 2-generational approach that will help parents complete a degree or credential leading to economic mobility and stronger families by pairing weekend-only college coursework with access to essential student services, including drop-in child care.
Future Grad by Yenko
Brooklyn, NY
FutureGrad by Yenko is a financial aid eligibility platform that provides targeted and timely analytics, alerts, and recommendations to ensure that student parents maintain financial aid necessary to keep college affordable.
Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona
Pathways
Tuscon, AZ
A 2-generation program for single mothers to secure advanced educational attainment toward their economic self-sufficiency, lifting entire families.
Mature Stage

Mature Stage

$200,000 awarded to each of the 5 mature stage winners—solutions with demonstrated track record of impact and proven ability to significantly scale.

Edquity
Brooklyn, NY
Edquity is an end-to-end provider of emergency cash grants and social services referrals for student parents, helping student parents overcome financial obstacles on their way to postsecondary credentials.
Family Scholar House, Inc.
Louisville, KY
Family Scholar House is ending the cycle of poverty and transforming communities by empowering student parents to succeed in postsecondary education and achieve life-long self-sufficiency.
Jeremiah Program
Minneapolis, MN
Scalable 2-generation programming that centers the full identity of single mom student parents, as both students and parents, and provides moms the tools and resources to surmount the systemic barriers they face in postsecondary education persistence.
Prison University Project
San Quentin State Prison, CA
Higher education for incarcerated parents provides a life-changing opportunity to break the intergenerational cycles of inequality and incarceration, improve employment opportunities and economic mobility post-release, and create a better life for parents and their children.
Rivet School
Richmond, CA
Rivet School, formerly known as Concourse Education, is college reimagined to serve post-traditional students like working adults and parent learners — delivering an accredited BA in 2-3 years and for $10,000.