Emergency Aid for Basic Needs

The Emergency Aid for Basic Needs Academy can transform your institution’s support system and maximize student success for all.

Emergency Aid for Basic Needs is an opportunity for institutional teams to investigate trends associated with offering emergency aid to students. This academy is specifically structured to increase the internal capacity of institutions to build sustainable emergency aid programs, leverage best practices for strategic resource allocation, and maximize educational experiences for traditionally marginalized and under-resourced students.

Teams will participate in five sessions supporting the development of emergency aid plans that prioritize advancing equitable student success for students facing unexpected financial hardships that may serve as barriers to continuing in their educational journeys.

Using a scaffolded approach, each workshop builds on the knowledge and practices of the previous. As a final product, institutions will create and share a living document outlining the action plan of their emergency aid program and collect student-level data for reporting results following a pilot of the program.

Participants will:

Define the purpose and appropriate use of emergency aid
Identify and track student data to assess emergency aid program impact
Construct institution-specific action plans for the sustainable, effective, and equitable distribution of emergency aid funds
Identify financial, in-kind, and partner resources aimed at increasing equitable access to postsecondary education for all students

Who Should Participate

Teams of at least 3 key stakeholders from:

Advancement
Academic Advising
Diversity
Financial Aid
Finance
Retention
Students
Student Aid
Student Success

How You’ll Benefit

Strengthen Institutional Capacity – Increase your institution’s ability to provide emergency aid by leveraging best practices, building sustainable programs, and strategically allocating resources.
Foster Equity and Success – The academy prioritizes advancing equitable student success for marginalized and under-resourced students facing unexpected financial hardships.
Empower Your Institution – With a scaffolded approach, each workshop builds upon the previous to create a comprehensive and actionable plan for distributing and assessing the impact of emergency aid funds, empowering your institution to support students in need.

Create Sustainable Emergency Aid Plans for Equitable Student Success.

Apply by March 29, to join the Spring 2024 Cohort.

Learn how our Emergency Aid for Basic Needs service can transform your institution’s support system and maximize student success for all.

Key Features

Comprehensive Workshop Series

Our workshop series consists of five sessions that will guide your institution through the development of a sustainable and effective emergency aid plan.

April 11 2-3 p.m. Eastern
April 25 2-3 p.m. Eastern
May 9 2-3 p.m. Eastern
May 16 2-3 p.m. Eastern
May 23 2-3 p.m. Eastern

Strategic Resource Allocation

Our workshops will help you identify best practices for allocating emergency aid funds in a way that promotes equitable student success.

Data Collection and Assessment

With our sustainability toolkit, you will be able to collect student-level data and measure the impact of your emergency aid program, ensuring it is meeting its intended purpose.

Fees:

Fees are based on undergraduate enrollment as determined by College Navigator. Fees are assessed per institution, not per individual

Undergraduate Enrollment:

Up to 2,000 undergraduates $5,800
2,001- 5,000 undergraduates $7,100
5,001-10,000 undergraduates $9,000
10,001-15,000 undergraduates $11,100
15,000 +undergraduates $13,200

Students who recieved emergency aid funding were more likely to continue or complete their education than those who did not receive the aid.

The Gardner Institute worked with rpkGroup to design and deploy five workshops supporting the development of emergency aid plans that prioritize advancing equitable student success for African American, Latinx, and Native American students and those experiencing financial hardship. Aiming to connect short-term benefits to students to lasting strategy changes for institutions, the design of this cohort leverages the ground-level knowledge of peers with expert support from the Gardner Institute and rpkGroup. Each participating institution created a team of at least three key stakeholders to attend five workshops and technical assistance sessions. Three of the four institutions that were able to develop and deploy an emergency aid program reported outcome measures back to the Gardner Institute. Their results show the following:

Data

0 %

of students receiving both Pell Grants and Emergency Aid went on to continue or complete their degree, showing an improvement in success rates compared to students who didn't receive emergency aid.

0 %

of students receiving both Pell Grants and Emergency Aid went on to continue or complete their degree, compared to 83.9% who did not receive emergency aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we apply?

Applications are currently being accepted for Spring 2024 cohort. You can apply at this link.

Is there a deadline to apply?

Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis; subject to approval. Early registration is recommended. Applications for the Spring 2024 Cohort should be completed by March 29, 2024.

Who should be on our institutional team?

Institutional teams of at least three people that can include:

Advancement
Academic Advising
Diversity
Financial Aid
Finance
Retention
Students
Student Aid
Student Success

Your Institution has the option to create a team or utilize an existing team or committee.

When are the synchronous meetings?

The synchronous meetings last 90 minutes.

Spring 2024 Cohort will be from 2-3 pm ET. Beginning the week of April 8.

Synchronous Meetings: All times are Eastern.

April 11, 2-3 p.m.

April 25, 2-3 p.m.

May 9, 2-3 p.m.

May 16, 2-3 p.m.

May 23, 2-3 p.m.

How many hours per week will participants need to complete the Academy?

Depending on the size of your team and how the work is divided we estimate approximately 3 -5 hours per person per week for the 5-week Academy.

How will I know if my institution has been approved?

You will receive an application confirmation email within 1 week of applying. A link to pay for the academy will be sent to the person indicated on the application. Once the payment has been made you will receive further information from the Academy facilitators. Please contact info@gardnerinstitute.org