Urban Pathways to College

While more people are attending college than ever before, equity gaps remain stubbornly high and students of color remaining proportionally underrepresented on campuses and among college graduates. This strategy seeks to propel more low-income and underrepresented students – especially first-generation, African American, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Native American and veteran students – into two- and four-year institutions, prepared to succeed.

The potential cost of a college education, as well as the admissions and financial aid bureaucracies, can be daunting. And many of our target students are the first in their families to attend college, lacking a support system to clarify or ease the transition into college. More low-income adults are also attempting to return to college after years in the workforce. Our strategy focuses on both populations, working to ensure low-income students and people of color are well represented in the pipeline to college.

We focus our work nationally, but have with three special geographic interest areas. The Education team has four focus states: California, Florida, Michigan and Texas. The foundation has three focus cities: Detroit, Memphis and New Orleans. And the Kresge Education Program also has a parallel effort in South Africa.

The Education Program does not accept unsolicited proposals.

We occasionally invite applications for specific efforts through a request-for-proposal process. When available, grant opportunities are listed on the Education focus area pages, linked above, and on the Current Grant Opportunities page.

To apply in response to an invitation or review an existing application, visit The Kresge Foundation Fluxx portal.

First-time visitors will be required to create an account. Fluxx is configured to work optimally in Google Chrome Browser, which should be installed before you access the portal.

Instructions for creating an account and for installing the Google Chrome browser are available in “Fluxx Portal Instructions and Helpful Tips” found in the Library section of this website. That document also is available once you enter the portal for easy reference.

Below are eligibility requirements for all Education Program grant opportunities. In certain situations, criteria are added for specific grant opportunities.

Who is eligible?

• U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations with audited financial statements that are not classified as private foundations. Audits must be independently prepared following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or Government Auditing Standards. Financial statements prepared on a cash, modified cash, compilation or review basis do not qualify.
• Government entities in the United States.
• Organizations in South Africa with the equivalent of U.S. 501(c)(3) status.

Who is ineligible?

• Individuals.
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, sexual orientation or veteran status.
• Organizations that require membership in certain religions or advance a particular religious faith. (Faith-based organizations may be eligible if they welcome and serve all members of the community regardless of religious belief.)
• Programs operated to benefit for-profit organizations.

What projects will be competitive?

We support community-based organizations or networks of institutions, as well as research or advocacy groups, that work to remove barriers to access for low-income and underrepresented students. We are interested in efforts that have broad and meaningful impact beyond the boundaries of any one campus. Our goal is to fund innovative, sustainable programs that can easily be taken to a larger scale to foster:

• College readiness and the application process.

• Awareness of and access to financial aid.
• Research into and models for removing barriers to student access.
• Advocacy efforts for student access.
• Efforts that connect regional higher education entities with their local K-12 school systems
• Access to higher education by working adults trying to complete a degree or retool their skills.