Grants
The mission of USA Funds® is to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access and success. We focus our grant-making primarily on our target populations of low-income and first-generation students, students of color, foster youth and adult learners.
The three focus areas of our grant-making are postsecondary education:
- Readiness – to make students ready for postsecondary education.
- Enrollment – to advance or promote a broad approach to increasing postsecondary education enrollment levels.
- Success – to improve students' retention, progression and completion of a postsecondary education with manageable debt.
For details of our grant-making focus and our grant application process, please download “Information for Grant-Seekers.”
For examples of programs previously awarded grants by USA Funds, visit "Featured Grant Awards."
If your organization’s programs are consistent with our grant-making guidelines, we encourage you to submit a grant proposal through our online grant application. This application includes a brief eligibility quiz to ensure your organization’s grant request falls within our guidelines.
First-time applicants and those who have not received USA Funds grant funding within the previous 12 months will be required to complete a letter of inquiry.
Please note that USA Funds accepts and awards grants on a quarterly cycle. For our 2012 fiscal year those cycles are:
- Grant applications and letters of inquiry accepted: Nov. 1 –Dec.15.
- Grant applications and letters of inquiry accepted : Jan. 1 – March 15.
- Notification by April 15.
- Grant applications and letters of inquiry accepted: April 1 – June 15.
No grant requests will be accepted between June 16 and Sept. 30.
If you previously started a grant application, you can return to complete the application.
Please contact us if you have additional questions.