Awarded since October 2020
Students received funding
Summary
In 2020, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) launched DCPS Persists, the nation’s first urban school district alumni program that provides its students with the resources to succeed in college through graduation.
Aimed at increasing the six-year college graduation rate for DC public school students, DCPS Persists provides academic, financial, and social support to encourage participants to complete their degrees. They also help students overcome financial challenges through microgrants for basic needs, tuition, and transportation. These small grants offer relief from financial worry, allowing students to focus on their education.
With students attending colleges across the country, DCPS Persists administrators needed a solution to manage and distribute these microgrant funds efficiently. With Beam, they could easily track applicants, manage cases, and quickly distribute funds to those in need, regardless of where they were located.
The microgrant program’s success prompted DCPS Persists to expand to a second initiative— emergency funds for college students—which was easily implemented using Beam’s multi-program configuration.
Background: The first college persistence initiative led by a public school district
More than three-quarters of jobs in the District of Columbia require a postsecondary degree or credential. The demand for additional workforce credentials highlights the critical relationship between continuing education and career opportunities for DCPS alumni.
While DCPS saw an increase in college enrollment, they noticed a worrying trend–only 38% of alumni earned their college degree within six years.
It became clear that preparing students for a successful future in the area required further support. In 2020, DCPS embarked on a program to build the bridge from high school to college graduation.
Funded by the DC Public Education Fund and the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, DCPS Persists became the country’s first college persistence initiative led by an urban school district. This unique alumni program provides DC public school graduates with resources to ensure students successfully graduate college.
In addition to personal coaching and regular check-ins, DCPS Persists wanted to find a way to support students experiencing financial hardships, which can be a significant barrier to college success.
Challenge: Delivering basic needs funding to students across the U.S.
DCPS Persist acknowledged financial stress could negatively impact students. Studies show more than half of college students struggle to come up with $500 in an emergency, and at least 10% experience basic needs insecurity.
DCPS Persists launched a basic needs microgrant program to support the academic success of their college students. This unconditional cash assistance aimed to alleviate financial stress by helping students cover essential expenses, like food and housing.
However, DCPS Persists needed a way to manage and distribute these microgrants to students nationwide, regardless of where they attended college.
This required finding an accessible tool that allowed students to easily apply for grants, choose a preferred payment method, and receive financial support quickly. On the administrative side, DCPS Persists needed a solution to collect and review applications, track available balances, and securely distribute funds to students in need.
Beam’s Solution: Fast grant distribution with flexible payment options
Beam offered a configurable, user-friendly funding distribution solution that DCPS Persists easily implemented. The platform provided a streamlined application process that students could access anywhere, on any device. It took the average DCPS Persists student less than seven minutes to complete an application.
Beam’s fast, secure payments enabled DCPS Persists administrators to be more responsive to addressing students’ immediate needs. Once microgrants were approved, recipients could immediately claim their award. The flexible payment options–such as direct deposit, Zelle, and prepaid cards–allowed each student to select their preferred method for receiving funds. For most microgrant recipients, payments were distributed in less than two days, and with Zelle, funds arrived in minutes. This ability to quickly distribute basic needs funding was crucial in alleviating student stress and preventing further financial instability.
Beam’s software also enabled DCPS Persists program managers to view and approve applications as soon as they were submitted, often within the same day. The customizable analytics dashboard provided valuable data that allowed administrators to manage their programs more effectively. With Beam, they could track the distribution of core funds and generate reports with data on the financial challenges students frequently encountered.
This built-in reporting offered insights that helped DCPS Persists better understand students’ needs, allowing them to align resources more effectively to support them.
Results: Helping students access basic needs
In the first year, DCPS Persists administered over 500 microgrants to students across the U.S. This direct cash assistance helped students cover basic needs like food, housing, and transportation costs. Reducing their financial strain helped DCPS Persists participants stay enrolled and complete their degrees.
“For so many of our students, a sudden expense—like a car repair or an unpaid bill—can be the difference between staying in college or dropping out,” said Jim Kline, Executive Director, DC Public Education Fund. “With Beam, we’re able to step in at just the right moment, providing the kind of support that says, ‘We’ve got your back.’ Beam’s platform has been a game-changer, helping us deliver aid quickly and seamlessly to students wherever they are. It’s allowed us to grow DCPS Persists and make sure more of our students stay on track to achieve their dreams.”
Since 2020, DCPS Persists has expanded the microgrant program to support students beyond their first year in college. Beam’s flexible platform easily accommodated the program’s growth, while continuing to deliver valuable reporting and rapid payment distribution.
The success of the microgrant program led DCPS Persist to expand its support to students. They launched a larger emergency fund initiative, offering grants for unexpected expenses like medical bills and outstanding balances that could prevent students from registering for classes.
Beam’s platform easily scaled to administer the new program. In a few weeks, we added a new emergency fund application and configured a new funding source within DCPS Persists’ existing Beam instance.
Since 2020, DCPS Persists has partnered with Beam to process more than 3,000 grant applications and distribute more than $1.2 million in aid. To date, the program has supported more than 1,800 students through basic needs and emergency grants, playing a vital role in turning college dreams into a reality for the students of the nation’s capital.
