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A Focus on Impact

Our Portfolio Companies Make a Difference

Our portfolio companies spend every day removing obstacles and working to overcome challenges students and workers have to get a good education and a good job.

Recent Posts

Feb 24, 2026

5

min read

News & Updates

Mantra Health Appoints New Executive Leadership, Ensuring Success of New Persistence Intelligence Platform Beacon

Following the recent launch of Beacon, the first persistence intelligence platform for higher education, Mantra Health today announced the expansion of leadership with the hiring of Zahra Safavian, Phil Tallman, and Jessica E. Bright.

Feb 24, 2026

4

min read

News & Updates

Orijin Acquires Honest Jobs to Create the First End-to-End Education-to-Employment Pathway for Justice-Involved Individuals in the U.S.

Orijin, a national leader in correctional education and workforce development technology, today announced the acquisition of Honest Jobs, a national fair-chance employment platform connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with job opportunities and reentry resources.

Feb 5, 2026

2

min read

Censia

Censia AI Adds Peter M. Fasolo to Board, Strengthening the Workforce Intelligence Layer for Enterprise Transformation

Censia AI, the enterprise workforce system of intelligence, announced today the appointment of Peter M. Fasolo to its Board of Directors. Fasolo brings decades of experience leading global talent strategy and organizational transformation and will help guide Censia's mission to make workforce decisions faster, more precise, and continuously adaptive.

Feb 5, 2026

3

min read

Orijin

Instructure and Orijin Partner to Expand Secure, Scalable Education Across United States Correctional Systems

Instructure, the leading learning ecosystem and maker of Canvas LMS, powered by AWS, announced a partnership with Orijin, a leading education and workforce development platform for correctional systems, to expand secure, scalable education across correctional facilities nationwide. Orijin chose to partner with Instructure for its ability to scale alongside Orijin and address the increasing complexity of delivering secure, high-quality education for correctional facilities.

Feb 3, 2026

2

min read

Regent Education

Regent Education Joins the CollegeBuys Institutional Purchasing Program

Regent Education, a leader in SaaS-based financial aid and fund management solutions, announced today a new partnership with CollegeBuys. As part of this agreement, California's community colleges will have access to discounted pricing for the Regent Award Suite of financial aid and fund management solutions.

Feb 2, 2026

2

min read

Regent Education

Regent Education is Excited to Announce We’re TrustEd App Certified for CBE

Higher education is facing increasing pressure to demonstrate how learning translates into real-world skills, sparking a rise in competency-based education (CBE) programs nationwide.

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Mark Grovic on Higher Ed Now Podcast with, “Getting Philanthropic Returns”

  • Mar 30, 2018
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

New Markets’ General Partner Mark Grovic was recently featured on this popular podcast with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a national nonprofit organization for higher education. Hosted by Christine Ravold, they discuss issues in higher education and how investors are helping to improve the system.


While traditional philanthropists donate sums to aid a desired cause, a new wave of “venture philanthropists” are investing in organizations that are making positive changes, for a profit. Also featuring Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, executive director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, this podcast explores both the traditional philanthropist and investor perspective.


Mark describes the ideal venture prospective as an entity that is sustainable and can scale.

Typically these entities are software or technology enabled service companies that improve students’ ability to attain a degree or other meaningful credential. New Markets Venture Partners is investing to ensure that students are job-ready, and working to involve prospective employers in the process through project-based learning and credentialed pathways.


Regardless of the approach, both traditional and venture philanthropists are making large-scale, positive changes within the higher-education system. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how Mark and his fellow investors are profiting by ensuring that high school and college students are receiving the support and opportunities to maintain a strategic education, and continue on to a successful professional career.



What do philanthropists and investors have in common? A lot more than you’d think. A new generation of “venture philanthropists” are looking for real results when it comes to supporting American higher education. To consider both sides of the investor/philanthropist mindset, Mark Grovic of New Markets Venture Partners and Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, executive director of the Fund for Academic Renewal, discuss how to consider specific issues in higher education that are ripe for innovative philanthropists to target for giving.

 
 
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