TROY, Mich. – Participants in the national “Talent Dividend Prize” seeking a challenge grant to support their plans to boost local college achievement may now contact Bridget Marquis at the nonprofit group CEOs for Cities for information about those grants.

The challenge grants are available only to the 57 U.S. cities already entered the Talent Dividend Prize competition.

That prize, $1 million, will be given to the metropolitan area with the greatest increase in the number of post-secondary degrees granted per capita over three years. The Chicago-based CEOs for Cities will award the prize. The aim is to increase college attainment in U.S. cities by 1 percent. Entries in the competition closed May 2.

The Talent Dividend Prize is supported by The Kresge Foundation and Lumina Foundation for Education.  

As an added incentive to competing cities, Kresge will award $10,000 challenge grants to registered cities that secure $10,000 from donors to support local college achievement. Challenge grant funds can be used by cities to:

• Further develop their college achievement plan to increase the number of local college graduates;
• Raise awareness of the value of improving college achievement;
• Convene partners to improve local college achievement.

Organizers in participating cities interested in the challenge grants may reach Marquis at bmarquis@ceosforcities.org or call 443.562.1699. The main number at CEOs for Cities is 312.553.4630. Kresge is providing the funding, but is not administering the challenge grant program.  (Previous news.)