College Promise Selects 10 Teams to Strengthen Promise Program Communications

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, College Promise announced the launch of the College Promise Learning Community (CPLC): Advancing Impact through Compelling Communication, a nationwide community of practice designed to support Promise program teams in strengthening how they communicate impact, results, and return on investment to funders, policymakers, students, and community stakeholders.

Ten Promise program teams were selected through a competitive application process that drew strong interest from programs nationwide. The selected teams represent a range of institutional contexts, geographies, and student populations. The 10 teams represented in the CPLC include:

• Birmingham Promise
• Community College of Rhode Island | Rhode Island Promise
• Detroit Promise
• Flint Promise
• Los Angeles Community College District | LA College Promise
• Say Yes Buffalo
• Seattle Colleges | Seattle Promise
• South Texas College Valley Promise
• University of Hawai'i Community College System | Hawai'i Promise
• Yavapai College | Yavapai College Promise

Through a series of structured learning sessions, peer exchange, and applied collaboration running from February through June 2026, participants will engage around shared challenges and promising practices in the field to build organizational capacity to communicate impact with greater clarity and confidence to diverse stakeholders.

"We are honored to bring together this community of leaders who are deeply committed to student success," said Rosye Cloud, interim CEO of College Promise. "The College Promise Learning Community creates space for honest learning, collaboration, and collective problem-solving—grounded in the changing landscape that programs are navigating every day. Our goal is to move from discussion to action as teams apply new practices to advance their strategic priorities."

Following the learning community, College Promise will share insights in fall 2026 through a publicly available webinar series focused on practical communication tools and strategies that can be adapted and scaled across program contexts and institutions.

"Our investment in the College Promise Learning Community is rooted in the belief that a diverse, connected field is essential to advancing student success and economic mobility," said Ashley Johnson, Program Officer at The Kresge Foundation. "This cohort reflects the breadth of the Promise movement and brings together a powerful range of perspectives that will strengthen how the field tells its story and shares impact. We are grateful to all of the programs that applied and are excited to continue learning alongside this community."

The CPLC builds on College Promise's ongoing commitment to provide capacity building to Promise leaders, programs, and institutions that support student success by sharing scalable insights and best practices and building broad public support for the Promise movement nationwide. The initiative is made possible through support from The Kresge Foundation.

About College Promise:
College Promise is a national, nonpartisan, non-profit organization that aims to ensure all students in the United States can access the education, training and support necessary to achieve their educational and economic aspirations. College Promise works with organizations nationwide to provide scholarships covering tuition, fees, and other educational costs, along with essential support services that equip students to succeed on their college and career journeys.

About The Kresge Foundation:
The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand equity and opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development, nationally and in Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans and Fresno. In collaboration with our partners, we help create pathways for people with low incomes to improve their life circumstances and join the economic mainstream.

For media inquiries, please contact College Promise at [email protected] or (270) 268-6251.

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SOURCE College Promise