USA Funds awards $6.5 million in higher education grants

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds^®, a nonprofit organization that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, announces the award of more than $6.5 million in grants for the six months ending Sept. 30, 2012. USA Funds awarded 164 grants to organizations in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

"These grants represent USA Funds' support to organizations committed to our common goal of postsecondary education access and success," said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, Access and Outreach. "These programs are in line with the USA Funds mission to enhance preparation for, access to and success in postsecondary education, specifically for low-income students, students of color, and students who are the first in their families to attend college."

USA Funds awarded the following grants of $100,000 or more:

• Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (Washington, D.C.) — $350,000 to provide need-based scholarships to Asian- and Pacific Islander-American students and to support the Partnership for Equity in Education through Research program, which is designed to improve student outcomes and institutional capacity building.
• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) — $275,000 to support research that will identify and highlight models of success at minority-serving postsecondary institutions.
• Complete College America (Washington, D.C.) — $250,000 to support a convening of state political leaders, academic researchers and faculty members to address postsecondary education completion.
• Marian University (Indianapolis) — $250,000 to provide scholarship and programmatic support to 21st Century Scholars students attending Marian University.
• United Negro College Fund (Indianapolis) — $168,000 to support fundraising by the local UNCF office and to support an initiative to increase student retention and program completion rates among African-American males.
• Partnership for Learning (Lansing, Mich.) — $150,000 to support EduCash, a national campaign to encourage high schools to take ownership of their students' Free Application for Federal Student Aid — FAFSA — completion rates and build a college-going culture.
• U.S. Dream Academy (Washington, D.C.) — $150,000 to support fundraising for and program support to mentor and tutor children of incarcerated parents.
• La Sierra University (Riverside, Calif.) — $119,976 to enhance the university's student retention program, by providing mentoring support to students at risk of dropping out.
• City Year (Seattle) — $105,000 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.
• Central Indiana Community Foundation (Indianapolis) — $103,000 to support the Indiana Latino Scholarship Fund, which raises scholarship funds for Latino students in Indiana.
• American Indian CollegeFund (Denver) — $100,000 to support fundraising to promote college access among Native American students.
• Legacy Foundation (Merrillville, Ind.)— $100,000 to support a community-wide collaboration in Northwest Indiana aimed at significantly increasing the number of Latino students with postsecondary degrees.
• 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.
• University of Nevada Foundation (Reno, Nev.) — $100,000 to support mentoring and tutoring for students who are less likely to graduate from high school and to encourage them to enroll in college through the Dean's Future Scholars program.
• YMCA of Greater Indianapolis — Urban Mission Branch (Indianapolis) — $100,000 to support programming that addresses critical college readiness issues affecting youth and teens in central Indiana.

For additional information about USA Funds grants, sponsorships and other resources, visit www.usafunds.org/community/Pages/default.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