Scholarship America’s emergency grant programs offer financial support at the right time, alleviating unexpected burdens that otherwise could lead to dropping out. By facilitating the delivery of funds when and where they are needed most, our streamlined emergency grant process gets the quickest results—and keeps students on track.
For 15 years, Scholarship America has worked with a wide variety of partners to offer emergency financial assistance. We have discovered it’s a catalyst for completion — especially for at-risk students. 95% of Scholarship America emergency grant recipients complete the term they are enrolled in and 88% enroll the next term.
The average Scholarship America emergency grant of $741 may not seem like a life-changing dollar amount—but, for millions of students, it is. Emergency grant recipients are three times more likely to stay in school because easy-to-access assistance relieves stress for working students.
Emergency grants work best as part of a comprehensive emergency aid system that includes food pantries, housing assistance, vouchers and financial learning. As a nonprofit partner, we are uniquely positioned to deliver emergency grants in a streamlined, impactful way—whether it’s quickly disbursing funds to students or paying vendors directly.
We partnered with Achieve Atlanta to launch a model emergency grant solution at the beginning of 2020. By combining our efficient processing and delivery with Achieve Atlanta’s proven impact on high-need students, we distributed more than $10,000 in vital funds. And then COVID-19 struck. Learn more about how we mobilized to help, and get in touch with questions or ideas.
“Partnering with Scholarship America helped us meet our students’ most urgent needs—especially when COVID-19 struck. Hundreds of students were suddenly struggling to afford transportation, housing and technology. Thanks to Scholarship America, funds were awarded almost immediately so our students could focus on the changing demands of remote learning.”