These one-time grants of $750 are designed to respond quickly when an unforeseen hardship threatens a scholar’s ability to pay rent and remain enrolled. Whether caused by sudden job loss, illness, domestic violence, family crisis, or another urgent disruption, these short-term emergencies can create immediate barriers to persistence and degree completion.

Emergency Rent Grants serve as a resource of last resort—not a replacement for financial aid or institutional support, but a targeted intervention that helps protect the larger investment already made in a scholar’s success.

Importantly, the Emergency Rent Grant Fund is supported entirely through donor contributions and dedicated fundraising efforts. This ensures that emergency assistance does not draw resources away from our baseline grants-to-schools program, allowing us to both sustain long-term housing support and respond to urgent, immediate need.

This funding allows us to act when traditional systems may move too slowly for urgent circumstances. By providing fast, flexible support directly to scholars, we help prevent temporary crises from becoming permanent setbacks.

Examples of qualifying emergencies may include:

• Sudden loss of employment or income 

• Unexpected medical expenses or illness 

• Domestic violence or family crisis 

• Fire, flood, or household emergencies 

• Theft or damage involving essential belongings 

• Unanticipated childcare or transportation costs that directly impact housing stability 

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with decisions typically made within three business days to ensure scholars receive timely support when they need it most.

This work reflects a simple but critical belief: small, timely interventions can make the difference between stopping out and graduating. Emergency grantmaking helps safeguard both our scholars’ futures and the impact of our broader housing grant investments.