Grant Funding Available to Support Inland Empire Students
COVID-19 Emergency Funding of up to $50,000 and Innovation Awards Funding of $150,000 Available for Educational Organizations Supporting Inland Empire Students
Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), an educational intermediary organization seeking to improve the Inland Empire economy by raising the region’s educational attainment rates, has announced that COVID-19 Emergency Funding is now available for educational organizations supporting critical student needs amidst COVID-19. Organizations may apply for up to $50,000 in funding from now through April 21. Additionally, GIA has extended the application deadline for their $150,000 Innovation Awards to April 30.
School closures and economic shutdowns due to the global pandemic have created educational and financial challenges for Inland Empire students and institutions. GIA created the COVID-19 emergency fund to assist with immediate challenges the coronavirus pandemic will present for students in the next 3-9 months.
“The regional effect of the coronavirus requires us to focus on the educational and economic challenges of the present moment to continue the pursuit of the network’s shared vision,” said Ann Marie Sakrekoff, Senior Director at GIA. “After many conversations with our educational partners throughout the region, we have identified three focus areas for the emergency grant funding including; student basic needs support, class of 2020 college transition support, and technology assistance.”
Awardees of emergency funding will be informed of approval and have funding distributed by May 4, 2020.
In addition to the COVID-19 emergency funding, GIA will continue with their Innovation Awards which awards grants of $150,000 to organizations working towards accomplishing one or more of five measurable goals:
- Align educational policy initiatives regionally via cradle-to-career collective impact model.
- Increase college preparedness, particularly in math, resulting in a 20% reduction in the number of students requiring remediation at matriculation from high school to college within five years.
- Increase baccalaureate, associate, certificate, and credential attainment by 15% across the two counties within five years.
- Increase the six-year graduation rate by 10% over five years.
- Improve career preparedness through strengthened partnership with industry to better align education with workforce development needs.
Applications for Innovation Awards are due by April 30 and funding is dispersed in two parts to grantee organizations in June 2020 and May 2021.
Growing Inland Achievement is a bi-county, educational collaborative in the Inland Empire that brings together leaders across K-20 education, civic, and business sectors. GIA organizes and collaborates with the Inland Empire Educational Network to create innovative practices that achieve large-scale social and institutional change, and prove working together is more impactful than working alone.