USA Funds Awards $3 Million in Higher Education Grants

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, a nonprofit organization that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, announces the award of more than $3 million in grants for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2010. USA Funds awarded 75 grants to organizations in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

"These awards support programs that improve students' awareness of and preparation for postsecondary education, promote access to high-quality higher education opportunities, and increase student persistence and completion of their programs of study," said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, access and outreach. "USA Funds focuses its grant making primarily on underserved, low-income middle and high school students; students of color; and first-generation postsecondary students."

Highlights of USA Funds' grant making during the quarter include the following awards of $20,000 or more:

• University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) -- $500,000 to support research that will identify and highlight models of success at minority-serving postsecondary institutions.

• Hispanic Scholarship Fund (San Francisco) -- $200,000 to provide need-based scholarships to Hispanic students.

• American Indian College Fund (Denver) -- $200,000 to provide need-based scholarships to students attending tribal colleges.

• Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (Washington, D.C.) -- $200,000 to provide need-based scholarships to Asian and Pacific Islander American students.

• United Negro College Fund (Fairfax, Va.) -- $200,000 to provide need-based scholarships to promote higher education opportunities for African American students.

• Thurgood Marshall College Fund (New York) -- $200,000 to provide need-based scholarships to students attending public Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

• Nevada System of Higher Education (Reno, Nev.) -- $190,000 to implement Navigation 101, a Web-based college and career readiness program, in at least 10 Nevada high schools.

• Institute for Higher Education Policy (Washington, D.C.) -- $149,694 to support a research project, The For-Profit Sector: An Examination of an Emerging Segment of Higher Education, to obtain data that will provide a profile of students who pursue higher education at for-profit institutions.

• Sunnyside Unified School District (Tucson, Ariz.) -- $100,000 to support the Sunnyside Learning Community that works to improve postsecondary education preparedness and access for low-income students.

• Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center (Indianapolis) -- $100,000 to support the Mary Rigg Learning Center, which works to improve postsecondary preparedness and access for low-income students.

• Arizona Community Foundation (Phoenix) -- $70,000 to support College Depot, which provides free full-service college planning through outreach, guidance, resources and referrals.

• Indiana Dollars for Scholars (Indianapolis) -- $70,000 to support the Hoosier Heroes scholarship program and recognition dinner, which recognizes students and their heroes and provides scholarship support for these students.

• College and Career Connections (Washington, D.C.) -- $60,000 to support the OnTrack! program to provide early college and career information and guidance to eighth and ninth grade students.

• Indiana Latino Institute (Indianapolis) -- $60,000 to support the Careers for the Future Education program, which helps Latino students make career choices and provides the framework for them to succeed in postsecondary education.

• Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (Bloomington, Ind.) -- $50,000 to support Indiana's College Goal Sunday, which provides free assistance to students and parents in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA.

• Maryland Higher Education Commission (Annapolis, Md.) -- $50,000 to support the Maryland Go For It College Access Campaign to develop resources and publications that create awareness of postsecondary education.

• Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (Baltimore) -- $44,000 to support Maryland's College Goal Sunday.

• Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (Jackson, Miss.) -- $35,000 to support Mississippi's College Goal Sunday.

• Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (Phoenix) -- $35,000 to support Arizona's College Goal Sunday.

• Kansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (Garden City, Kan.) -- $30,000 to support Kansas College Goal Sunday.

• Boys II Men, Inc. (Indianapolis) -- $30,000 to support a community program for African American male students to develop skills for success in high school and postsecondary education.

• Glow Foundation (San Francisco) -- $30,000 to provide postsecondary education access to low-income students through financial literacy and mentoring.

• Interagency Community Coalition (Fort Washakie, Wyo.) -- $28,500 to support Wyoming's College Goal Sunday.

• National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (Washington, D.C.) -- $25,000 to support the Governors' Higher Education Dashboard, a four-page dashboard of key indicators of the performance of state higher education systems.

• Communities in Schools of Arizona (Phoenix) -- $25,000 to support the Eliminating Roadblocks to School Success Initiative, which works to reduce and eliminate barriers to postsecondary education by providing graduation coaches for students.

• University of South Florida (Tampa, Fla.) -- $23,000 to support Florida's College Goal Sunday.

• Via Christi Foundation (Wichita, Kan.) -- $21,243 to support the ChildLife Center's Educational Resource Center, an education resource classroom, at Via Christi Medical Center.

• Arizona Quest for Kids (Phoenix) -- $20,000 to support Quest for College to assist students with college readiness through mentoring and guidance workshops.

• National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund (Los Angeles) -- $20,000 to support the seventh annual NALEO National Summit on the State of Latino Education.

• Saint Florian Center (Indianapolis) -- $20,000 to support the My Brother's Keeper program, which facilitates the academic, career, social and identity development of young African American male leaders.

• Pacific Financial Aid Association (Honolulu) -- $20,000 to support Hawaii's College Goal Sunday.

Through March 15, USA Funds is accepting grant requests that meet its guidelines. For details, visit www.usafunds.org/community/Pages/Grants.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

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