American Student Assistance Announces Intention to Invest $25 Million in Funds, Early-Stage Firms, and Companies with Diverse Management Focused on Increasing Equitable Access to Impactful Career Readiness and Future of Work Opportunities for Young People from All Backgrounds

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Apr 08, 2024, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, April 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- American Student Assistance® (ASA), a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures, announced today its intention to invest $25 million in mission-aligned funds and companies with diverse founders as well as early-stage firms. Over the next five years, this funding will be invested in businesses focused on fostering innovation in career-focused education, intentional postsecondary pathways, and workforce development, in an effort to scale access to critical skill-building experiences and resources that will position middle and high schoolers for career and lifelong success.

"Strategic impact investing is critical in driving continuous innovation and paving the way to promising models in the youth career readiness space, ensuring that all middle and high schoolers have access to a wealth of real-world experiences that help to make informed decisions about their futures. In this way, ASA is fostering a generation of confident, crisis-proof young people who are ready for whatever path comes next after high school," said Jean Eddy, President and CEO, ASA, author of Crisis-Proofing Today's Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow's World.

Since launching its investment strategy in April of 2022, ASA has invested over $40 million in key sectors, such as postsecondary pathways, workforce development, and career-focused education. This was through a combination of funds and direct private investments. ASA also closed four investments in 2022. As a result, more than 40 million learners have been impacted through fund investments, as well as through direct investments.

"At ASA, we believe that increasing diversity in, and access to, early-stage capital is integral to driving innovation and creativity. This also enhances problem-solving that can deliver impactful workforce readiness solutions that engage young people with their future planning," said Rilwan Meeran, Vice President of Impact Investing, ASA.

As part of ASA's investment in Pathstream – a B2B platform focused on building stronger, more diverse talent pipelines for critical roles by offering new career pathways and upskilling opportunities to frontline workers – the company has expanded its product strategy to include middle and high school career exploration opportunities. "We are excited to partner with ASA on increasing our impact by reaching young people earlier in their journey with the support needed to launch fruitful careers and thrive in the jobs of the future," said Eleanor Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO, Pathstream.

ASA's goal for strategic investment is to provide millions of young people with greater access to high-quality, digital-first career readiness learning experiences in and beyond the classroom on their devices, including phones, laptops, and tablets. Equipped with opportunities to discover their interests and explore career possibilities as early as the middle grades level, experiment through hands-on work-based learning in high school, and gain an understanding of the full range of nondegree pathways to success after high school, young people will be equipped to make an informed choice that helps them achieve long-term economic mobility.

The new investment initiative will invest in diverse entrepreneurs of early-stage companies that are achieving at least $500k in annual recurring revenue with an institutional lead investor. The new initiative will also invest in diverse managers of funds that are mission-aligned to ASA's goals. To learn more, visit https://www.asa.org/impact-investing/.

In addition, ASA's Jean Eddy and Rilwan Meeran will be available to discuss more about the organization's strategic impact investment commitment at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego. Meet with them during the conference on Monday, April 15 at 1:00-2:00 PM PT, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Seaport Tower, Suite 3131. ASA's Rilwan Meeran will also be moderating the panel discussion, "Early Stage Career Education Impact Investing: Fueling Innovation," on Tuesday, April 16 at 11:00-11:40 AM PT. Learn more about ASA's presence at the ASU+GSV Summit.

About American Student Assistance® (ASA)
American Student Assistance® (ASA) is a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures through equitable access to career readiness information and experiences. ASA helps middle and high school students to know themselves—their strengths and their interests—and understand their education and career options so that they can make informed decisions. ASA fulfills its mission – in schools and beyond the classroom—by providing free digital experiences, including Futurescape®, Next Voice™, and EvolveMe®, directly to millions of students, and through advocacy, impact investing, thought leadership, and philanthropic support for educators, intermediaries, and others. ASA fosters a generation of confident, crisis-proof young people who are ready for whatever path comes next after high school. To learn more about ASA, visit www.asa.org/about-asa.

SOURCE American Student Assistance (ASA)