OUR GRANTMAKING
Advance college completion for low-income women scholars who are driven towards positive social impact.
HOW OUR GRANTS WORK
The LCU Fund for Women’s Education does not make grants to individual scholars. Rather, funds are awarded to partner schools who in turn disburse grants to selected scholars based on the LCU Fund’s eligibility criteria. Grants are made to select accredited institutions to provide housing support to high performing, low-income women scholars so that they may focus on their studies and complete their degree.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
The LCU Fund awards grants to selected colleges or universities, public or private, that provide undergraduate, graduate and / or professional programs within the five boroughs of New York City.
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Provide meaningful cost relief by covering 40% or more of a scholar’s housing costs
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Prioritize undergraduate degrees -- “gateway degree”
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Fund high performing scholars pursuing social impact professions (broadly defined) in the arts, health services, education, social work, public administration, religious leadership, and criminal justice
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Prioritize community college transfer students for housing support
Context for Our Grantmaking
College completion is critical to women's social and economic mobility.
Women with a college degree are more likely to be employed, have an increased income, and be financially stable than women without degrees. LCU Fund research shows that our scholars spend almost half of their monthly income on housing, which makes them cost-burdened. Students at least in their third year in college – the undergraduate population that the LCU Fund supports – experience higher rates of housing insecurity than first-year students. Addressing the gaps in costs of living for women scholars is a pathway to breaking the poverty cycle.
Housing remains a persistent unmet essential need and obstacle to college completion.
National research shows that the lack of safe and affordable housing disproportionately affects lower-income students, students of color, and women scholars and has cascading impacts on scholars’ long-term economic resilience. Our housing grants ensure the stability of housing for a student in need and helps to prevent scholars committed to completing their education from falling into the abyss of homelessness.
Demands for advanced degrees to reach the highest rungs in the career ladder.
The LCU Fund offsets the costs of specialization in social impact professions to unlock the full potential for women's economic parity through equitable workforce development.
2024
Grantee Schools
