Propel America
Project Title
For general support
Date
Sep. 11, 2025
Duration
24 months
Description
Young people from low-income backgrounds in the United States are often faced with two paths after high school – either incur debt for a four-year degree with no guarantee of a high-mobility job or settle for a low-wage job with minimal career advancement. Amid the pressing need for healthcare professionals and high-quality pathways into this profession, Propel America provides an alternative pathway for young adults to continue their education while also moving towards employment in a stable career in healthcare. Propel operates in five regions across the country (Baton Rouge, Camden, Los Angeles, Newark, and Philadelphia), works with seven healthcare systems, and provides tuition-free training for three medical pathways. Through strategic partnerships with higher education institutions and employers, Propel ensures that their fellows receive training that aligns with industry needs and leads to successful career placements. On average, 70 percent of fellows are hired into a healthcare career, they experience a 30 percent wage increase once employed, and 74 percent persist in their career, far outpacing industry benchmarks. General support of Propel will enable them to deepen their work with regional partners and increase their reach to 1,600 fellows per year.
Website
Project Title
For general support
Date
Sep. 14, 2023
Duration
24 months
Description
Propel America offers a new way for young adults to move quickly to a job that gives them a stable career in healthcare while continuing their education. Too often, young people in the United States—especially BIPOC students from low-income backgrounds—are forced into a false choice after high school. They can forestall income and take on debt in hopes that a four-year degree will lead to a good job, or they can step into a low-wage job right away with little chance for advancement. With individual guidance and support, tuition-free training that also earns college credit, and guaranteed interviews with employer partners ready to hire, Propel removes these barriers by promoting a ‘jobs-first higher education’ model. Since its founding in 2019, with Corporation support, Propel has enrolled 375+ fellows across five regions and sustained a 63 percentcompletion rate while decreasing the cost per fellow by ~20 percentannually. Continued Corporation will allow Propel to increase the number of fellowships and expand its outreach towards reaching 1,000 young adults by 2025.
Website
Project Title
For general support
Date
Mar. 10, 2022
Duration
18 months
Description
Propel America was founded in 2018 to empower low-income young adults with the skills, credentials, experiences,and networks they need for a good job that leads to upward career mobility. Too often, young people in the United States—especially Black and Latinx students from low-income backgrounds—are forced into a false choice after high school. They can forestall income and take on debt in hopes that a four-year degree will lead to a good job, or they can step into a low-wage job right away with little chance for advancement. With individual guidance and support, tuition-free training that also earns college credit, and guaranteed interviews with employer partners ready to hire, Propel America removes the barriers many young people face by promoting a ‘jobs-first higher education’ model to better support recent high school graduates. Propel willscale its impact and grow to supportthousands of fellows inmeaningful careers in healthcare. Corporation support will allow the expansion of Propel’s innovative approach to building connections from K-12 education to its fellowship through partnerships with high schools and youth-serving community organizations.
Website
Project Title
For continued development of partnerships with employers and higher education institutions
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
18 months
Description
Propel America believes that America’s education and workforce systems have been failing to support low-income Americans, and it is hurting young people, employers, and our economy alike. Despite nationwide increases in high school graduation rates, many young Americans end up stuck in low-wage work, with crippling education debt, or both. Even those who attain industry recognized credentials often lose out on a decade of higher wages because our nation lacks the systems to connect high school graduates with affordable credentials and meaningful work. Propel America targets and recruits young adults from low-income communities who cannot afford the out-of-pocket cost, nor the opportunity cost, of enrolling in college. With the onset of COVID-19, Propel America believes this work is even more important as unemployment continues to rise and the prospect of college debt looms even larger. Support from the Corporation will help Propel America develop a blended delivery model featuring a ‘credential first’ degree program delivering online credentialing with simultaneous on-the-ground student recruitment, coaching, and job placement support.
Website
Project Title
For launching a unified system of career navigation, job training, job placement, and ongoing education for young adults
Date
Sep. 12, 2019
Duration
12 months
Description
Despite nationwide increases in high school graduation rates, many young Americans end up stuck in low-wage work, with crippling education debt, or both. Even those who attain industry recognized credentials often lose out on a decade of higher wages because our nation lacks the systems to connect high school graduates with affordable credentials and meaningful work. Propel America targets and recruits young adults from low-income communities who cannot afford the out-of-pocket cost, nor the opportunity cost, of enrolling in college. Support from the Corporation will help Propel America to build a system that connects training providers, employers, high schools, industry-experienced mentors, and technology in a scalable, low cost system of skill-building, job training, and placement that engages young adults at the critical transition between high school and postsecondary life.