Regional Leadership & Convening
From Study to Strategy: How Learn More Earn More Took Shape
Northeast Indiana needs more skilled workers and more accessible pathways. That’s why Don Wood Foundation’s Developing Talent is fueling a regional coalition built on research, collaboration, and measurable outcomes.
Big, long-haul challenges rarely yield to small, isolated solutions. And in northeast Indiana, one of the most pressing challenges is clear: we need many more people with the right skills to fill good-paying, in-demand jobs. We also need pathways that work for every kind of learner, not only the “traditional student.”
That’s why Developing Talent is mission critical. That’s also why the Foundation didn’t address the challenge facing northeast Indiana by launching a campaign. We focused on something more foundational: researching, listening, and developing regional ownership.
Combining Developing Talent with Engaging Youth and Empowering Manufacturing, the other “levers for change,” results in a positive shift when the three work simultaneously. At least that is our approach to creating the catalyst.
Step 1: Lead with insight, then build action.
To move from good intentions to measurable change, the Don Wood Foundation partnered with Questa Education Foundation and TPMA to produce the Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training Study (2025)—a report intentionally positioned as a catalyst for action, guided by an advisory council and regional contributors.
The study didn’t treat “education after high school” as a single track. It examined how people actually build lives and careers—through certifications, apprenticeships, short-term training, degrees, and employer-supported learning. It then outlined opportunities a regional coalition could pursue to increase attainment and strengthen alignment between education and employment.
Step 2: Empower decision makers closest to the situation.
A recurring theme in Don Wood’s legacy is helping people to “pack your own chute,” building skills, confidence, and purpose to shape their own futures.
This initiative reflects that same mindset at a community scale: don’t impose a solution from outside the region. Equip the people already in the work to define the barriers, test the assumptions, and own the action steps.
The study’s coalition model emphasizes working groups made up of practitioners and decision-makers from local, county, and regional communities. The coalition has been charged with vetting ideas, recommending actions, and this year moving strategies into implementation.
Step 3: Get the right people in the room, then move from planning to implementation.
Research matters but change only happens when a region shows up.
In November 2025, more than 265 community members from across our region did just that, gathering for the CAPET SUMMIT: A Future-Ready Region, a milestone moment that marked a shift from planning to implementation.
And the work wasn’t narrow. Over the past year, the CAPET initiative has engaged 400+ regional partners contributing time, data, insights, and collaboration, because developing talent at scale requires many voices and expertise areas working in sync.
The pivot: CAPET becomes Learn More Earn More.
At the last Summit, partners announced the evolution of the Coalition for Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training—CAPET’s new identity: Learn More Earn More—with a dedicated website designed to inspire learners, dispel myths about education, and connect people to resources.
This wasn’t a cosmetic refresh. It was a strategic shift toward a clearer, more human message: Learning beyond high school creates opportunities at every stage of life, including high school students, adult learners, and career changers.
What “Developing Talent” looks like in practice.
The Learn More Earn More movement is built on practical, region-ready steps, recommendations shaped through community input and designed to be owned locally, including:
A comprehensive regional resource directory to connect learners to support
A regional marketing and awareness campaign emphasizing the value of learning beyond high school
A regional data dashboard to measure progress
A network of student navigators to help learners persist and complete
Deeper employer engagement in education and talent development
To sustain accountability, partners also formed a Learn More Earn More Leadership Council spanning education, workforce development, and community investment. The council represents another example of the Foundation’s coalition-building approach to systems-level change.
Why this matters to funders, partners, and builders
If you’re a nonprofit, education partner, employer, or community organization looking to create meaningful workforce impact, here’s the signal in this story:
The Don Wood Foundation doesn’t fund “big ideas” in isolation. We invest in credible people, clear plans, and regional structures that can carry the work forward, so change is durable, not seasonal.
That’s legacy thinking. See the challenge clearly. Convene the right partners. Build shared ownership and keep moving until the region has a solution that lasts.