USA Funds Awards $3.7 Million in Higher Education Grants

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, a nonprofit organization that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, announces the award of more than $3.7 million in grants for its most recent quarterly grant-making cycle. USA Funds awarded 123 grants to organizations in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

"These grant recipients support programs that improve students' awareness of and preparation for postsecondary education, promote access to high-quality higher education opportunities, and increase student persistence in and completion of their programs of study," said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, Access and Outreach.

Highlights of USA Funds' recent grant-making include the following awards of $50,000 or more:

• Indiana Commission for Higher Education (Indianapolis) — $270,000 to support Learn More Indiana's College Success Coalition and College Success Mentoring Initiatives to help Indiana students of all ages succeed in school, complete college and connect to careers.

• American Indian College Fund (Denver) — $150,000 to enhance scholarship support for American Indian students.

• Central Indiana Community Foundation (Indianapolis) — $150,000 to support the Indiana Latino Scholarship Fund.

• Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (Jackson, Miss.) — $150,000 to build and deploy an articulation and transfer tool on the existing statewide college access website, to serve as a single point of entry for students seeking to transfer within the community college and university systems or to re-enter postsecondary education.

• Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, Mo.) — $150,000 to support college completion and student financial literacy.

• United Negro College Fund (Indianapolis) — $118,000 to provide fundraising support to the Indiana UNCF.

• Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (Washington, D.C.) — $100,000 to support a white paper to study how Asian and Pacific Islander American students finance their education. The grant also will support a conference to disseminate the research results.

• Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township Foundation (Indianapolis) — $100,000 to support the Advancement Via Individual Determination program, a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges by focusing on students in the academic middle.

• United Way of Central Indiana (Indianapolis) — $100,000 to support Connected By 25 to ensure that foster care youth are educated, housed, financially stable, employed and connected to a support system by age 25; to support community school coordinators at various Indianapolis Public Schools; and to support the Early Readers Club, which promotes financial literacy from an early age.  

• Institute for Higher Education Policy (Washington, D.C.) — $99,452 to support the IHEP Summer Academy conference, which brings together college and university teams to help identify measures to improve access and success for students of color and other historically underserved populations in higher education. The funding also supports teams from Minority-Serving Institutions to participate in the IHEP Summer Academy.

• The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, Calif.) — $77,000 to support the Puente Project 9th Grade Student Leadership Conferences to motivate ninth grade students to aspire to higher education by providing them with the opportunity to experience a college-going culture.

• Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas (Wichita, Kan.) — $77,000 to support the Youth Entrepreneurs classroom and alumni support program, which provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to start their own business.

• Wichita Public Schools (Wichita, Kan.) — $75,000 to support the tutorial element of the Advancement Via Individual Determination program in middle and high schools within the school district.

• Indiana Dollars for Scholars (Indianapolis) — $66,000 to expand access to postsecondary education and to encourage educational preparation by promoting and supporting programs of Scholarship America that serve students, families and communities in Indiana.

• Business Higher Education Forum (Washington, D.C.) — $50,000 to promote college readiness, access and degree completion for underserved populations, particularly in math and science.

• Cathedral High School (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to fund tuition for four students to attend Cathedral High School.

• Charles Tindley School (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to support a college completion program, which provides outreach to Tindley graduates and college readiness training for current students.

• City Year (Seattle) — $50,000 to support a school-based strategy to improve the conditions that lead to students' succeeding in school and to keep them on track to graduate.

• College Success Foundation (Issaquah, Wash.) — $50,000 to support a program that boosts the number of low-income students entering college and their success while in college.

• Community Health Network Foundation (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to support a community school coordinator at T.C. Howe Community High School, to align collaborative efforts with student academic achievement and youth development goals leading to high school graduation and preparation for postsecondary education.

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (Washington, D.C.) — $50,000 to support regional training sessions on college readiness, financing a college education and leadership.

• Excelencia in Education (Washington, D.C.) — $50,000 to analyze and develop a long-term strategy to increase Latino student college success and completion.

• Foundation for Students Rising Above (San Francisco) — $50,000 to provide high school juniors with comprehensive guidance and support through college and beyond to help ensure their success in college, career and life.

• Friends of Hawaii Robotics (Honolulu) — $50,000 to sustain student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics during the elementary and secondary school grades by developing awareness and interest in robotics.

• The Fund for Hoosier Excellence (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to provide scholarships to Indiana minority students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership.

• Girls Incorporated of Indianapolis (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to sponsor a math and science program that gives girls opportunities to explore, ask questions and solve problems in a girl-focused setting.

• Hispanic Scholarship Fund (San Francisco) — $50,000 to increase scholarship support for Hispanic students.

• I Have a Dream Foundation (Portland, Ore.) — $50,000 to provide academic support services to students and families from third grade through high school.

• Indiana Black Expo (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to support the annual Indiana Black Expo Statewide Education Conference, which prepares Indiana's teachers and administrators to effectively work with a diverse student population.

• Jobs for Arizona's Graduates (Phoenix) — $50,000 to provide at-risk youth with academic, personal, leadership and vocational skills to be successful in their lives and in society.  

• Marian University (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to provide support for Twenty-first Century Scholars enrolled at Marian University.

• National Center for Youth Law (Washington, D.C.) — $50,000 to create a network of education champions to provide guidance to foster care youth as they explore postsecondary education opportunities.

• Police Athletic League of Indianapolis (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to support the Indy PAL Club Youth Mentoring Program, which provides tutoring and mentoring for inner-city youth.

• The Posse Foundation (New York) — $50,000 to identify, recruit and select public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential to become Posse Scholars. These students receive four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships from Posse's partner institutions of higher education.

• Thurgood Marshall College Fund (New York) — $50,000 to support the annual leadership institute, which prepares students for careers by exposing them to business professionals, networking, internships and employment opportunities.

• Training, Inc. (Indianapolis) — $50,000 to provide career and life skills training to disadvantaged, unemployed or under-employed men and women.

• YMCA of the USA (Chicago) — $50,000 to bring together national College Goal Sunday leaders to discuss best practices.

Between Oct. 15 and Dec. 15, USA Funds will accept additional grant requests that meet its guidelines. For details, visit www.usafunds.org/community/Pages/Grants.aspx.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that works to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access and success by providing and supporting financial and other valued services. For more information about USA Funds, visit www.usafunds.org.

SOURCE USA Funds