By Venessa Marks, Senior Director Postsecondary Success & Innovation, KIPP Foundation
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the college affordability crisis. The pandemic has disproportionately affected American families of color, and those in low-income communities; many of these impacts are financial, as families have
lost jobs or seen major reductions in their income. For their children who are pursuing higher education, that sudden change in their financial status can make or break their college careers.
At KIPP – where 95% of our students identify as Black or Latinx, and 88% qualify for federal free and reduced-price lunch – we know that many students’ college plans are being complicated or derailed by the pandemic. We’ve spent the past year doing everything
we can to help students stay the course to graduation day.
Our most successful tool thus far? Microgrants.
What we need, our alums told us, is support with the day-to-day costs that financial aid doesn’t cover: meals, lodging, school supplies like books and devices, and tuition costs over and above what scholarships provide. Microgrants – one-time awards of
a few hundred dollars, which students don’t have to repay and can use as needed – can help defray those costs.
Using microgrants to support students in college isn’t new. Research has supported the effectiveness of microgrant programs in higher
ed in recent years, and in some cities, KIPP had already been providing small college persistence grants to alumni. But when the pandemic
hit, we ramped up our efforts.
In summer 2020, we created the KIPP Bridge Fund to provide emergency support for KIPP alumni enrolled in four-year colleges, two-year colleges, and professional certification programs across the country. Thanks to generous support from funders, we’ve
been able to help thousands of students meet the seemingly small financial shortfalls that could make or break their college careers.
To date, we have distributed nearly $1 million to KIPP alumni through the KIPP Bridge Fund. We’ve awarded more than 1,300 grants, with the average grant being just over $700; the majority of grants are being used to pay for food, housing, course supplies/materials,
and last-dollar tuition costs. Among KIPP alumni who have received these awards since the launch of the KIPP Bridge Fund, 91% remain enrolled in college or have earned their degrees.
Here are just a few examples of how students are using these microgrants:
Brianna needs reliable, high-speed internet access to be able to attend class and complete her assignments. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the facilities on campus where she could previously get internet access, such as the library, are inaccessible.
Having lost her job due to the pandemic, Brianna wasn’t able to afford high-speed internet access on her own. She asked for a KIPP Bridge Fund grant to help pay for hotspot services on her phone, allowing her to continue attending classes online.
Alecia is pursuing a nursing degree. When the pandemic hit, elective surgeries at the healthcare facility where she worked were significantly reduced, and her hours got cut in half. Her mother also temporarily lost her job due to the pandemic. She
requested support from the Bridge Fund to pay for groceries and other household expenses, allowing her to continue her studies until her mother could return to work.
Laurence is studying criminal science and typically saves up well in advance to buy textbooks for each semester. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, he had less work availability than usual, and he had to use the money he’d saved to help with unexpected
family and household expenses. He asked for help from the KIPP Bridge Fund to purchase textbooks for the spring semester.
Kaliyah is a senior in college, majoring in early education. She had a paid internship at a daycare near her university; however, she contracted COVID-19 while working there and became very ill. By the time she recovered enough to return to work,
the daycare had closed indefinitely. Kaliyah is living off-campus and taking classes online while recovering from the after-effects of COVID-19. She requested a KIPP Bridge Fund award to help pay for food, course materials, and utilities.
When we talk about helping students afford college, tuition is an important first step. But there’s so much more that goes into paying for a college education, and so many financial considerations that can affect whether students persist to graduation
day. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from supporting KIPP alumni through the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that even seemingly small steps, like microgrants, can make a big difference.
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