MERIT AMERICA

IN 2024, MERIT AMERICA FOCUSED ON REFINING OUR PROVEN "TECH+ TOUCH" MODEL, BLENDING FLEXIBLE ONLINE LEARNING WITH WORLD-CLASS COACHING TO DELIVER TRANSFORMATIVE RESULTS AT SCALE. FUELED BY OUR MISSION TO BUILD A PATHWAY TO THE MIDDLE CLASS FOR THE 53 MILLION AMERICANS STUCK IN LOW-WAGE WORK, WE ALSO EXPANDED INTO NEW FIELDS BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, PROVING THAT OUR APPROACH WORKS ACROSS MULTIPLE IN-DEMAND CAREERS WHILE LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR OUR NEXT CHAPTER OF GROWTH.SINCE OUR FIRST 15-PERSON PILOT IN 2018, MERIT AMERICA HAS SCALED DRAMATICALLY. IN APRIL 2024, THE ORGANIZATION SURPASSED 10,000 LEARNERS SERVED AND CLOSED THE YEAR WITH MORE THAN 14,000, REFLECTING BOTH STRONG DEMAND FOR OUR PROGRAM AND OUR ABILITY TO SCALE RESPONSIBLY.OUR LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CONFIRMS THAT OUR MODEL CONTINUES TO DELIVER STRONG RESULTS AT SCALE. ON AVERAGE, ALUMNI EXPERIENCE AN ANNUAL WAGE INCREASE OF $24,000 THREE OR MORE MONTHS POST-PROGRAM COMPLETION, NEARLY DOUBLING PRE-PROGRAM EARNINGS OF $26,000. OUR 80% COMPLETION RATE FAR OUTPACES THE SIX-YEAR NATIONAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMPLETION RATE OF 42%, FURTHER UNDERSCORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR MODEL.IN 2024, WE EXPANDED OUR PROGRAM OFFERINGS BY LAUNCHING CYBERSECURITY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT CAREER TRACKS, JOINING IT SUPPORT, DATA ANALYTICS, AND UX DESIGN. THESE NEW TRACKS ADDRESS URGENT LABOR MARKET NEEDS, INCLUDING A SHORTAGE OF OVER 700,000 CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONALS AND 200,000 PROJECT MANAGERS ANNUALLY. LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025, WE ARE PREPARING TO EXPAND OUR CAREER TRACKS BEYOND TECH, OPENING EVEN MORE PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC MOBILITY.OUR FINANCIAL ACCESSIBILITY MODEL REMAINS A CORNERSTONE OF OUR APPROACH. THROUGH THE GOOGLE CAREER CERTIFICATES FUND, THOUSANDS OF LEARNERS HAVE ACCESSED ASCENT FUNDING'S INNOVATIVE ZERO PERCENT LOAN, WHICH REQUIRES NO UPFRONT COSTS, CHARGES 0% INTEREST, AND ONLY REQUIRES REPAYMENT WHEN LEARNERS EARN AT LEAST $40,000 ANNUALLY. IN 2024, WE ALSO FORMALIZED OUR "OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL" INITIATIVE, ENSURING PROGRAM ACCESS FOR LEARNERS WHO DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THE LOAN AND CANNOT OTHERWISE COVER THE COST OF THE PROGRAM.WE ALSO STRENGTHENED PARTNERSHIPS WITH EMPLOYERS AND FUNDERS TO BROADEN REACH AND DEEPEN IMPACT. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH LYFT AND INSTACART, CONNECTING OUR PROGRAMS TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DRIVERS AND SHOPPERS NATIONWIDE. A $15.6M REGIONAL INVESTMENT FROM CRANKSTART FOUNDATION TO EXPAND OUR IMPACT IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, EXPECTED TO GENERATE $200M IN WAGE GAINS. SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS FROM BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS AND ASCENDIUM EDUCATION GROUP, PROVIDING CRITICAL FUNDING FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR GROWTH.THE LAUNCH OF THE OPPORTUNITY COALITION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICA'S FRONTIER FUND FOUNDATION AND MAJOR FUNDERS, TO ADDRESS CRITICAL WORKFORCE SHORTAGES IN FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES, SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN SECTORS.AS WE REFLECT ON 2024, WE ARE PROUD OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE RESULTS WE HAVE ACHIEVED WHILE LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH. WITH A STRONG TRACK RECORD, ROBUST PARTNERSHIPS, AND PROVEN OUTCOMES, MERIT AMERICA IS POISED TO SCALE TO TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE LEARNERS IN THE YEARS AHEAD - CONTINUING TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS AND UNLOCK OPPORTUNITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.