It’s not too late to file a FAFSA
Our friends at the Texas College Access Network (TxCAN) are making heroic efforts to help Texas students overcome this year’s FAFSA hurdles so they can get funding and enroll in college.
Seeing a significant decline in FAFSA completions resulting from the delayed federal rollout of the new Better FAFSA, TxCAN has launched an emergency summer push to get help for the high school class of 2024. TxCAN raised over $800,000 from the ECMC Group, the Gates Foundation, and the Meadows Foundation to create and promote timely resources for students:
- TxCAN created an online FAFSA Support Hub where students can access free virtual financial aid workshops and live support for FAFSA completion.
- The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has leveraged their ADVi texting bot to reach approximately 200,000 students to promote the FAFSA resources.
- Regional partners like College Possible, United for College & Career Success, and Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Focus are organizing FAFSA information and completion events, including block parties, apartment complex canvassing, and library sessions with trained FAFSA navigators.
- Social media and postcards have been used to raise awareness of these resources.
What are FAFSA completion rates in your area?
Check out TxCAN’s dashboard to compare FAFSA completion rates for recent high school graduates in your area to other Educational Service Center regions, counties, school districts and campuses in Texas.
Texas Success Center reflects on the past & looks to the future
Texas Success Center (TSC) has been an important partner for Greater Texas Foundation in our work to support Texas students enrolled in community colleges across the state. So we are proud to help them welcome new leadership to their organization. In June, Dr. Kimberly Lowry became the new Vice President of Texas Association of Community Colleges and Executive Director for TSC. She moved to TSC from one of our other esteemed partners, The Aspen Institute.
Dr. Lowry takes the helm of TSC as Dr. Cynthia Ferrell retires. Dr. Ferrell has been a strong leader, changemaker, and tireless advocate for Texas community colleges and the students they serve. Her legacy includes the creation of the annual Board of Trustees Institute that brings together trustees and school CEOs to focus on how boards can support sustainable institutional change at scale. We have enjoyed collaborating with her and wish her all the best in retirement.
As the Texas Success Center celebrates “five years of improving community colleges,” we invite you to check out their website for videos and stories about member schools who are implementing Texas Pathways.
Grantmaking Update
In its history, Greater Texas Foundation has awarded more than $148 million in grants to changemakers in Texas education. Since our last newsletter, we approved grants to the following organizations:
EMERGE Fellowship
Expanded Systems of Support for Students at Texas Colleges and Universities
$300,000
Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA)
A Community-Based Study on the Impact of Texas’s SB17 on Marginalized College-Going Students
$299,999
Texas 2036
Data-Driven Investments in the Workforce of the Future
$600,000
Thinking Strategically About Our Future
Within the education sector, summer is often a time for reflection, planning, and renewal. And this year, that is certainly true for us here at Greater Texas Foundation. As we enter the final year of our current strategic plan, we are looking ahead and thinking about how our next strategic plan will evolve to suit the needs of Texas students and help us achieve our mission in new, relevant ways. In Fall 2024, we will invite our partners and grantees to learn more about our next strategic plan, which we are developing with support from Bellwether Education Partners. Stay tuned for more information!
Meanwhile, enjoy your summer!
