Insights

Providing access to emergency funding and retention grants to over 700 DCPS graduates with support from DC Public Education Fund

Emergency aid programs are essential for college students facing basic needs insecurity, but outdated systems can make them seem archaic and hard to navigate.

Research shows many students are unaware that they're eligible for emergency aid grants through their institution, or believe it's too burdensome to apply.

The Beam team recently attended the 2022 NASPA Conferences to learn about factors affecting emergency aid and first-generation student success.

According to the Federal Reserve in 2019, 63 million Americans are unbanked or underbanked. What does that mean for emergency aid and cash assistance?

Beam partnered with Compton College & Believe in Students to administer over $50k in emergency aid to dual-enrolled students, the first initiative of its kind.

San Diego Mesa, which had previously partnered with Beam, formerly Edquity, to distribute emergency aid, knew that the platform offered the capabilities they needed to deliver millions of dollars in HEERF funding.

Research shows students' ability to pay for the total cost of college — living expenses, textbooks, etc. — is directly correlated to their ability to graduate.