Chicago, IL -- (SBWire) -- 01/15/2014 --After a rigorous selection process, One Million Degrees (OMD) is thrilled to announce that it has been selected to join A Better Chicago's investment portfolio.

A Better Chicago is a venture philanthropy fund for the Chicago metropolitan area. With a focus on early childhood, education, and careers, A Better Chicago aspires to dramatically advance opportunities for low-income children, adults and families. A Better Chicago uses sound investment principles to identify and support high-performing nonprofits that are achieving extraordinary outcomes for low-income populations. Through a combination of funding and management support, A Better Chicago helps its grantees to increase their reach, strengthen their outcomes, and magnify their impact.

"A Better Chicago is thrilled to be partnering with One Million Degrees," said Liam Krehbiel, Founder and CEO of A Better Chicago. "The organization’s strong track record of outcomes and growth, combined with its talented leadership team, made for a compelling investment. We look forward to helping One Million Degrees scale its impact in the Chicago region over the coming years."

A Better Chicago will provide OMD with financial and technical assistance to support the development of a scaling strategy to help serve more scholars. OMD will benefit from management support across a number of mission-critical areas including growth strategy, impact measurement, marketing and PR, talent development, and capacity-building.

"The importance of this investment cannot be overstated," said Paige Ponder, Chief Executive Officer of One Million Degrees. "The level of support and expertise offered to us by A Better Chicago adds tremendous momentum to our expansion initiative. Joining this portfolio of high-impact organizations will help us grow to serve more low-income community college students and truly make an impact on the region's economy."

About One Million Degrees
One Million Degrees empowers low-income, highly motivated community college students to succeed in school, in work and in life. From tutors and coaches, to life-skills training and financial aid, One Million Degrees provides our scholars with supports that are critical to their success in the classroom and beyond. If you would like to support or learn more about One Million Degrees, please contact:

One Million Degrees
226 W. Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60606
(312)920-9605 or Fax (312)920-9607
Email: info@onemilliondegrees.org
http://www.onemilliondegrees.org