The Michelson 20MM Foundation will be awarding our 4th Spark Grant to The Education Trust-West, a nonprofit that advocates for educational justice and the high academic achievement of all California students, pre-k through college; particularly those of color and living in poverty.
The grant will fund the development of a California Digital Financial Aid Awareness Toolkit. The toolkit will highlight best practices and strategies for high school and district administrators, counselors, and teachers, in order to drive increased rates of completed financial aid applications, specifically for low-income students and students of color.
The toolkit is directly related to last year’s passage of AB 2015 (Reyes), which requires all high schools to ensure that each of their students receive information on how to properly complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California DREAM Act application (CADAA) at least once before they enter 12th grade. This year AB 1617 (Reyes), builds on the prior bill, by requiring that schools ensure each 12th grade pupil completes and submits a FAFSA or CADAA starting in 2021.
Through a partnership with the California Student Aid Commission the completed toolkit will be distributed to all high schools throughout the state directly impacting over 400,000 students, including 221,547 low-income students of color.
We will be conducting Phase 2 of the Michelson Spark Grant program starting August 5th. To learn more please visit our webpage or sign up for notifications via the form below.