College Access Foundation of California welcomes grant applications from community-based, school-based and campus-based programs and organizations in California that help high school students with financial need reach college, persist and graduate. Our grants primarily support college scholarships, but applicants may also request support for modest, scholarship-related program expenses. The Foundation generally awards one-year scholarship grants, but we will consider multi-year grant requests from highly qualified applicants with a demonstrated capacity to maintain ongoing relationships with students and to track student progress through college.
College Access Foundation does not award scholarships to individual students.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- A non-profit organization classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; a public agency or government entity; or have a fiscal sponsor with tax-exempt status.
- Have a demonstrated capacity to serve low-income students and/or students who are in the first generation of their family to attend college.
- Currently manage a college scholarship program or have a demonstrated capacity to develop and administer a scholarship program.
- Serve students who currently attend or have graduated from high school in California. (Please note: scholarship recipients may attend college anywhere in the U.S.)
- Serve students who plan to attend or currently attend accredited, degree-granting, 2-year or 4-year post-secondary institutions.
- Serve students who plan to attend or currently attend college at least half-time, and are pursuing an Associates or Bachelors degree.
In addition, the Foundation particularly encourages applications from programs that:
- Provide long-term, intensive and highly personalized academic and social support for low-income and first generation college applicants and their families.
- Provide college selection and financial aid advice that helps students choose a post-secondary education program that is best suited to their needs and goals.
- Have developed strong partnerships with teachers, principals, public education officials and other local community-based organizations.
- Use research and data to inform their program design, and can demonstrate how they will measure and report scholarship program outcomes.
The Foundation does not award grants for the following:
- Scholarships for graduate students.
- Scholarships for students attending vocational or trade schools.
- Scholarship endowments or scholarship programs at individual colleges and universities that support students attending just one institution.
- Policy research or advocacy.
Grant size:
Last year, the Foundation awarded scholarship grants ranging from $50,000 for a small community-based program to over $1 million for a major statewide program. Our average grant was approximately $150,000. For a list of our current and recent grantees, click here.
College Access Foundation of California considers applications during three annual grant review cycles. Application review is ongoing, and applications may be submitted at any time. However, decisions will be made according to the following schedule:
| Grant Application Received By: |
Decision Made: |
| May 15, 2008 |
August 2008 |
| August 1, 2008 |
November 2008 |
| November 1, 2008 |
February 2009 |
Completed applications must be received by 5:00 PM on these dates to be considered for the corresponding decision date. Incomplete or partial applications will not be considered. Once an application has been accepted for consideration, Foundation staff will contact applicants to obtain further information. The Foundation will notify applicants of our funding decisions by the end of the month in which decisions are made.
Download Proposal Checklist, Cover Sheet, and Guidelines
Download One-Year Project Budget Template OR Multi-Year Project Budget Template
Download Organization Budget Template
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