Ford Foundation awards grant to Manufacturing Institute

The Ford Foundation has awarded a grant of $200,000 to The Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success (the research and education arm of the National Association of Manufacturers) for Business Champions, a task force of business leaders who seek to strengthen America's workforce by helping community colleges prepare more people for high-skill jobs. The Ford grant builds on a recent award of $538,000 from the Lumina Foundation for Education, bringing current funding for Business Championsto nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.

Initiated in 2004 with grants from the Ford Foundation and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Business Championsrecently has intensified outreach and partnership-building at the local, state and national levels. In the last three months, the champions have made presentations to the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, National Conference of State Legislators, Association of Community College Trustees, and other key audiences.