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The Ascend Foundation

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About

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In partnership with leading business organizations, The Ascend Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, educates, advocates, and enables business leaders to reach their full potential while driving positive societal and workplace change.

Tax-deductible donations to the Ascend Foundation create new pathways through scholarships, research, and programs that expand opportunity and leadership access for all. 

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Our Core Focus Areas

Research & Thought Leadership

We conduct and publish groundbreaking research around workplace equity, delivering insights that are actionable and timely.

Education & Scholarships

We empower the leaders of tomorrow. In partnership with long-standing corporate partners, we have awarded over $2 million in scholarships to students for achievements in scholastic excellence and contributing to their community. 

Recognition & Leadership Visibility

We bring changemakers together to work for a better future. 

Community Engagement & Mobilization

We create and promote research-based equity impact plans and activate our broader Ascend networks to generate good for the communities we live in. 

  • Ascend Cares is our social good program that activates leaders across our network and local chapters to positively impact and empower local communities to be inclusive places to work and thrive, benefitting the largest number of people. 

  • Ascend Ventures backs API entrepreneurs by combining capital with strategic guidance, mentorship, and access to Ascend's powerful network. We help founders scale their businesses, connect with enterprise partners, and create lasting impact across the ecosystem. 

  • Ascend Community Lighthouse builds stronger collaborations between nonprofits and corporations. 

  • The volunteer-led Feed Your Hospital program activated 14 Ascend chapters to deliver over 24,500 meals from local restaurant partners to frontline healthcare workers in over 190 hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Our 5-Point Action Agenda, a consortium of community organizations and over 90 companies, addressed the continued adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable and underserved populations. 

  • Our Impact Fund raised awareness of the history and prevalence of anti-Asian racism through expanding advocacy, allyship, education, and community engagement to create sustainable change.

  • Benjamin Min

    “Most profoundly, this scholarship affirms that organizations like Ascend and Synchrony Financial recognize talent exists everywhere, but opportunity doesn't, and they're committed to leveling that playing field for Pan Asian students navigating systemic barriers.”

    Benjamin Min, University of California, Riverside
    Ascend Scholarship Recipient in Partnership with Synchrony

  • Michelle Calope

    “I was honored to be recognized as a 2025 Ascend A-Lister and it was meaningful for my journey not just because of the personal recognition, but also because of what that recognition represented - the responsibility that we all have as leaders to create opportunities for others, to help pave the way for our future leaders.”

    Michelle Calope, SVP & Head of Intercontinental Markets, Bristol Myers Squibb,
    Ascend A-List Awards Honoree

  • Manjusha Kulkarni

    “The collaboration with Ascend has been so amazing. To really uplift this issue of mental health. It's so important that we're examining this and beginning to take steps to address it. Part of our efforts are to get people talking about it, making sure that people feel encouraged to share and get the help that they need."

    Manjusha Kulkarni, Co-Founder, Stop AAPI Hate & Executive Director, AAPI Equity Alliance

  • “Receiving the Experian B.A.L.L For Life scholarship is an acknowledgement of the work I have done for my community. It recognizes a mission that is rooted in my own upbringing: Growing up in an immigrant family, I saw how decisions were often made without access to clear information or guidance, and how that uncertainty could shape opportunities. That experience is what drives my commitment to social impact today.”

    Zifei Zhao, Georgetown University
    Ascend Scholarship Recipient in Partnership with Experian B.A.L.L. For Life

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the partners, contributors, and donors who support Ascend Foundation’s impactful initiatives.

Be a part of the change.
Make a tax-deductible donation and help us create a better future.

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