Emergency Grants and Coaching

Raise The Barr provides emergency grants of up to $1,000 to help stabilize single-parent students and their families who have experienced an unforeseen financial need that jeopardizes the scholars’ ability to remain in school.

For many single-parent students, an unforeseen expense for something like a car repair or medical bill can create a financial emergency that threatens their college hopes.

Our primary goal with our emergency grants is to help ensure that single-parent students remain in school.

The Emergency Grant Coordinator (EGC) conducts a thorough intake interview with applicants in order to assist with navigational resources and assess whether an emergency grant will help stabilize the family.

Please note that at this time we are unable to provide grants to students who are experiencing a crisis. We define a crisis as an ongoing financial need that will not be resolved with a $1,000 emergency grant and will likely not stabilize the family.

Before applying for an emergency grant, please review the eligibility guidelines below.

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

  • Applicant must have financial hardship resulting from an unexpected incident that will be resolved with a grant of $1,000 or less.

  • One of the following must apply:

    • Scholar lives in or attends school in Ramsey/Hennepin/Dakota Counties in Minnesota or LA/Orange Counties in California

    • Scholar has participated in a RTB cohort

    • Scholar received an RTB scholarship.

  • Applicant must be a currently enrolled undergraduate student. 

  • Applicant must be a single parent or primary caregiver for biological or dependent children under 18.

  • Applicant must be able to provide sufficient documentation of financial hardship.

  • Other possible resources have been considered and are either unavailable or insufficient. The Emergency Grant coordinator may suggest other resources during the intake process.

  • If the applicant has previously received an emergency grant from RTB, they must wait 12 months from the date of receipt before applying for a new grant. If the applicant has previously applied for an RTB emergency grant and their application was denied, they must wait 6 months from this denial date before applying again.

Types of expenses that are covered by an emergency grant:

This list is not exhaustive:

  • Replacement of essential personal belongings due to fire, flood, theft, or natural disaster.

  • Emergency childcare assistance.

  • Emergency transportation costs.

  • Medications or costs related to emergency or urgent medical care (not covered by insurance) for the single-parent student or their children.

  • Non-cosmetic urgent dental work for the single-parent student or their children.

  • Safety-related needs (i.e. changing a lock)

  • Other emergency situation that will impact a student's ability to fully participate in their academic career 

Types of expenses that are not covered by an emergency grant:

This list is not exhaustive:

  • Raise The Barr emergency grants are NOT awarded to assist with ongoing financial needs, such as normal and anticipated academic expenses, rent/mortgage, and car payments. 

  • Utility payment (i.e. power, water, gas) 

  • Household or furniture costs not related to damage or theft

  • Costs for entertainment, recreation, or non-emergency travel

  • Replacement of non-essential personal items due to fire, flood, theft or natural disaster

PROCESS

To expedite the process, you should gather all your support materials including invoices.

1) The scholar applicant emails Rebecca Redmond, the Emergency Grant Coordinator (EGC), at colby@raisethebarr.org, for more information about the emergency grant.

2)The EGC contacts the scholar about the request and conducts a virtual eligibility meeting on Microsoft Teams.

3) If the emergency can not be addressed with a one-time grant of $1,000 or less, the scholar is informed that they are not eligible to apply for an emergency grant. The EGC provides the student with additional community resources to help address the student’s needs.

4) If an emergency can be addressed with a one-time grant of $1,000 or less, the EGC conducts a full intake with the scholar. The EGC works with the scholar to obtain backup documentation and provides navigational support for other areas that may be of concern based on intake.

5) If the scholar is eligible, the EGC will send the application to the Managing Director for approval.

6) The EGC informs the applicant whether the grant has been approved or declined:

  • If the application is declined, the EGC may provide additional recommendations to the student.

  • If the application is approved, the applicant may select to receive their payment via ACH, which can take 3-5 business days to receive once the grant is processed, or via a paper check, which can take 7-10 business days once the grant is processed.

7) Upon approval, the applicant will be issued an acceptance letter detailing the date of issue and the amount granted. Furthermore, the applicant will be required to submit a progress report or a summary outlining how the grant has positively impacted them within 2 days of utilizing the funds.

8) RTB submits the applicant’s payment information to our accounting team. Every effort is made to submit the payment information and process the payment within 3-5 business days of the grant approval. This time frame may be delayed due to national holidays, staff vacations, or illness.

9) Upon completion of the above process, the EGC conducts quarterly check-ins for the next year to provide additional support.