Healdsburg nonprofit Corazon, an organization that aims to provide equal opportunity for all community members regardless of race or economic status, was awarded last week with an $110,770 grant from the California Student Aid Commission Every Kid Counts Program.
The total grant award of $2.9 million was awarded to nine school districts across the state.
The $110,770 grant, which will be issued over the next three years, will go toward Corazon’s Kinder2College program. Kinder2College works as a college savings initiative that encourages low-income parents to start a savings plan toward their children’s higher education.
“We are thrilled to receive this assistance for such an important cause,” Corazon board chairperson Ariel Kelley said in a statement. “Research shows that low and moderate income households with less than $500 savings for college are three times more likely to enroll and four times more likely to graduate from college than those who do not have savings.”
With these funds, the Kinder2College initiative will be able to be expanded to three other local school districts: Geyserville, West Side and Alexander Valley School District.
Typically the program provides incentives to families each year to add to their savings accounts for college.
The funds will be distributed in chunks to the families.
Kindergarten funding will be issued in the amount of $100 for each student. A $50 bonus will be provided for students who are eligible for the Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program.
“For families who participate in savings within the first year, an additional $100 is issued per student as a first grade incentive,” according to a Corazon press release.
Folks who set up a monthly recurring annual savings account for college savings will receive up to $300 as a second grade match incentive and students in the third grade who have a 95 percent or better attendance rate will get $50 as part of the third grade incentive.
When asked how significant this grant is to the Kinder2College program, Kelley said, “It’s huge.”
“It’s allowing us to expand the program to four school districts and that is something we thought about doing over a few years but it has allowed us to fast forward and allows us to serve 100 more families,” Kelley said.
