The Higher Foundation Grant

The Higher Foundation Grant is need-based financial assistance that helps Georgia college students secure their basic needs. Our grant award is $500.00, and it is awarded once. Our grant recipients are randomly selected to eliminate bias, and we select them on the 1st of each month starting September 1st and ending May 1st. Our open application period is August 15th through April 15th each academic year. Students will receive an application update within 4 weeks of submission. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at grants@higherfoundation.org.

The Higher Foundation Grant Priorities

Food

We will help you purchase food and groceries to make sure you have the energy and nutrition you need.

Housing

We will help you pay your monthly housing & utility bills to make sure you have a place to call home.

Transportation

We will help you pay for gas, rideshare, and public transit to make sure you get to class and work.

Healthcare

We will help you pay for therapy, medicine, dentist, and doctor visits to ensure you are in a healthy condition.

Resources

We will help you purchase your college resources to help you go higher in your education.

Career Advancement

We will help you pay for fees related to professional development and getting into graduate school.

The Higher Foundation Grant Application

Please read through each stage carefully to understand our grant process.

Stage 1

Application

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Must be enrolled in a Georgia accredited institution pursuing either a Certification, Diploma, or Degree including Associates, Bachelors, Masters, & Doctorate (High school students in dual-enrollment programs are not eligible.)

Application Requirements:

  • Proof of enrollment in a Georgia accredited institution for the current semester with an unofficial college transcript, official college transcript, or a college acceptance letter.
  • The Give Higher Campaign Video Submission (Please follow the instructions here)
  • Headshot with a backdrop, white wall, or outdoor background. (Blurry photos, AI photos, and selfies are not accepted.) 

Application Period: August 15th through April 15th each academic year.

Award Amount:

  • $500.00 total 
  • One-time payment of $500.00 sent directly to the student via PayPal.

Stage 2

Selection

Selection Process:

If a student’s application meets our application requirements, it will be accepted into our grant application pool and will remain active until the current academic year ends in May. We randomly select grant recipients from our application pool on the 1st of months September through May. If your application is randomly selected, we will contact you with next steps. Please do not contact us for an application update.

Application Requirements:

If you are randomly selected as a grant recipient, you must provide the following by the 15th of the selected month:

  • Proof of Enrollment from the Office of the Registrar to prove you are enrolled in a Georgia accredited institution for the current semester.
  • PayPal information to process your grant award. We do not process our grant awards via cash, check, or any other payment method. 

Stage 3

Approval

Approval & Payment Terms:

If the selected student provides the correct information by our deadline, he or she will receive our $500 grant award via PayPal by the end of the selected month during September through May. Higher Students are encouraged to participate in The Give Higher Campaign and submit a Higher Testimonial once the grant award has been received. If a Higher Student still needs financial assistance after receiving our grant, he or she may reapply for a grant or a scholarship in the next academic year. Higher Students are eligible to receive only one grant from us each academic year. 

Higher Student Testimonials

For privacy reasons, these pictures of our Higher Students are for illustration purposes only.

As a homeless student, the Higher Foundation Grant has given me more food security. Not being able to have food every day has been a huge stress on my mental health, but I feel more financially comfortable with the grant. I will be forever grateful.

Higher Student, Georgia Institute of Technology

Honestly, when you’re worried about financial means, sometimes you cannot concentrate to your full ability. Being a college student requires you to have your concentration at full capacity. The Higher Foundation Grant allowed to relieve some stress by not having to worry where I was going to pull out money from without getting into more debt. This allows me to slowly thrive and pay my attention 100% to my classes.

Higher Student, Georgia State University

Higher Foundation has been so helpful to me. While it may seem small, the grant to purchase a parking pass has made my life so much easier. I was spending an hour in both the morning and the afternoon waiting for the bus. Since school started, I was already rained on repeatedly. With my pass, I am able to get back and forth to school much more efficiently. As a law student, this is invaluable. I now have another hour to sleep, study, or cook — all these that are much more important to my future than simply waiting on the bus. Thank you so much. I cannot wait to pay it forward.

Higher Alum, University of Georgia College of Law