Student Parent Pooled Fund
Fostering equity and systemic change for Student Parents.
The Michelson 20MM Foundation established the California Student Parent Pooled Fund to champion the needs of student parents.
The initiative addresses the unique challenges student parents face and lays the groundwork for activities that connect advocates to prevent the fragmentation of student-parent work in California. The fund grounds its work in a multi-generational approach that supports the whole family unit in accessing new resources, solving problems, and sharpening existing skills.
OUR APPROACH
Bridge the Gap
Arm higher education practitioners with knowledge of best practices in early childhood education
Support Families
Support families through a multi-generational approach
Galvanize Philanthropy
Galvanize philanthropy in support of systemic change
Advocate
Advocate for policy change at the system and state level
The Problem
Student parents—predominantly people of color, women, and those facing financial constraints—encounter unique obstacles that hinder degree completion. This project aims to bridge these gaps and ensure the success of student parents in higher education.
Over one-fifth of U.S. undergraduate students are parents.
In California alone, approximately 486,454 students juggle the responsibilities of parenting, while pursuing higher education.
40% of parenting students feel isolated on their campus and disconnected from their college community.
20% feel unwelcome on their campuses.
Grantmaking Priorities
The grantmaking priorities of the pooled fund are as follows:
Research and Practice
- Research that informs improved data collection of student parents across California’s higher education systems.
- Research that analyzes progress made across California’s higher education systems in supporting student parents as well as the efficacy of supports including but not limited to housing, childcare, food and nutrition, and workforce programs.
- Efforts that advance/scale programmatic best practices and evidence-based models in support of student parents.
Movement Building
- Work that catalyzes and scales student parent learning communities, student parent communities of practice, student parent coalitions, student parent networks, student parent clubs, peer-to-peer support models.
Education, Awareness, and Narrative Change
- Efforts that provide statewide technical assistance to organizations and institutions focused on increasing their servingness of student parents.
- Statewide public awareness campaigns that uplift the needs of student parents, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, low-income, older than 30, and first-generation college students.
- Efforts that convene student parents, student parent advocates, and practitioners from throughout California to learn and share best practices.
Policy Advocacy
- Efforts that inform institutional and legislative leaders about the needs of student parents with the end goal of affecting systemic change.
- Efforts that coalesce the student parent community in California to advance state-level change for student parents.
- Efforts that expand benefits access for both parent and child.
Concept notes will be accepted in Q4 2025. Interested parties will be invited to apply for grants from the California Student Parent Pooled Fund via the steering committee (composed of pooled fund contributors).
Pooled Fund Grantees
Philanthropic Partners
Stay Engaged
For additional information about the California Student Parent Pooled Fund, and how you can support our current work, please contact: Dr. Queena Hoang, Senior Program Manager at q.hoang@20mm.org.
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