March 25, 2026

Today, The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs led 91 organizations, institutions of higher education, advocates, and researchers in sending a letter to Congress calling for them to preserve and expand funding for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program (“Basic Needs Grant”) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Specifically, the coalition urges the House and Senate Appropriations committees to build on recent bipartisan progress to maintain the program despite the Administration's attempts to defund it and to expand annual funding to $45 million, equal to several other U.S. Department of Education grant programs in the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).

First funded in FY 2021, the Basic Needs Grant is vital to addressing the nationwide crisis of basic needs insecurity, and has helped colleges and universities in 22 states and Puerto Rico build and expand holistic, comprehensive supports that address food and housing insecurity, mental and physical healthcare challenges, transportation, technology, child care, and other costs that often derail students from completing their degree. The coalition urges Congress to increase these critical investments in student well-being and success.