Financial concerns continue to be a leading cause of why students are disengaging with higher education. In fact, more than 40% of students who choose to stop pursuing their academic career attribute their decision to financial concerns. Rising inflation and a poor economic landscape have exacerbated these reasons and administrative barriers further inhibit students in need from accessing necessary funding for tuition, housing, food, and medical expenses.
Just this past week, a new report was released detailing the impact and insight from a pilot program in King County, WA. Funded by the National Philanthropic Trust as recommended by the Schultz Family Foundation, the partners distributed $150,000 in emergency funding to over 250 students over the course of five months and across three local colleges. From December 2020 to April 2021, the eligible students attending Bellevue College, Green River College, and Highline College received critical aid to help further their academic goals.
In 2020, Believe in Students, a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering college students for success, began the pilot program to administer emergency financial grants in King County, WA. The program came to fruition through a partnership between United Way of King County, Beam (formerly known as Edquity), and Believe in Students with the goal of assessing strategies for equitable and efficient distribution of emergency financial grants.
“This partnership came together quickly as COVID-19 hit the country, with Washington state on the front line,” said Traci Kirtley, Executive Director of Believe in Students. “We are incredibly proud of the partnership we forged to support students facing unprecedented threats to their basic needs, and grateful for the quick response of the philanthropic community to support an approach that placed such faith in students.”
When coupled with other basic services, emergency financial grants help students tackle unexpected financial burdens that may otherwise cause them to withdraw from school. Though students exhibit financial responsibility and plan for the cost of tuition, fees, and books, there still remains weighty costs for basic needs such as food, housing, childcare, transportation and emergencies. Many students face basic need insecurity and precariously balanced financial situations are a real threat.
In fact, a 2022 survey of students commissioned by the Washington Student Achievement Council revealed that half of Washington community college students face basic needs insecurity. Furthermore, the survey found that nearly a quarter of students reported experiencing both food and housing insecurity. Marginalized populations, particularly students identifying as American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black/African American, reportedly experienced significantly higher rates of basic needs insecurity than respondents who identify as White.
“Basic Needs insecurity among college students is a threat to an equitable economic recovery. And we have solutions,” stated Gordon McHenry, Jr., President and CEO of United Way of King County. “By leading with trust, centering equity, developing effective partnerships, and investing at the scale of the need we can ensure students have the resources they need to persist in college and achieve their dreams. We urge the Washington State Legislature to invest in these solutions in 2023.”
The pilot program laid the necessary groundwork to forge meaningful partnerships that can make a profound difference in students’ lives by serving as a catalyst for United Way and partners to develop the Washington Postsecondary Basic Needs Coalition. The Coalition now advocates with state legislators to support a holistic strategy for implementing and funding basic needs resources such as housing and emergency grants for Washington college students.
“It’s hard enough being a student today without worrying about financial hardship or how to access support for basic needs, like housing, food, or medical expenses,” said David Helene, CEO and founder of Beam. “Beam is proud to partner with United Way of King County and Believe In Students to remove administrative barriers to getting emergency funds to students quickly and easily so they can focus on what’s important: completing their educational coursework and making their long-term goals become reality.”