Last Updated: October 8, 2026

This resource guide explains six federal grant opportunities that can fund basic needs efforts at colleges and universities. These grants can help successful applicants boost student persistence and completion by filling gaps in students' ability to secure food, housing, hygiene, mental health, and child care, as well as other essential non-tuition needs they must meet in and out of the classroom. Funds can help colleges begin new basic needs work or increase the scale and sustainability of their existing resources. 

Congress typically revisits these programs each year, and funding availability and levels, as well as application timelines, can change. However, this guide provides essential information about the grant programs to help your institution of higher education, system, or state prepare for the application process. 

We also acknowledge the ongoing uncertainty of the federal policy landscape—including proposals by Congress and the Administration to cut or flat-fund these programs, which can cause challenges for applicants. We are committed to fighting for additional funding for each of these programs, and you can find out more on our Policy & Advocacy page.  

Each section below provides an overview of the program, eligibility, funding levels, and other resources for applying. Institutions are encouraged to review each program and explore funding options that best serve their students’ needs.

We hope to see many Hope Impact Partnership (HIP) institutions take advantage of these funding opportunities. If you have any questions relating to a program or need further information, please feel free to reach out to [click-for-email]

The Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program (or what we call “Basic Needs Grants”) is housed at the U.S. Department of Education and is the only federal program to comprehensively address students’ basic needs in higher education. Institutions can use these grants to invest in programs that address food, housing, transportation, health care, child care, and other non-tuition expenses for students. It is a part of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which makes other competitive grant awards to institutions as directed by Congress, and is currently administered by the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of ED.  

The grant requires a holistic, or comprehensive, approach to meeting basic needs, such as strengthening collaboration with federal, state, or local government agencies or community-based organizations. For example, the grant can support outreach, referral, and casework to help students enroll in public benefits programs or secure tax benefits. Campuses are also encouraged to leverage or develop on-campus resources like food pantries, child care, or basic needs centers.  

The Trump Administration added significant emphasis on workforce development and artificial intelligence (AI) to the FY 2026 competition (announced May 21, 2026). The Administration encourages applicants to connect basic needs supports to workforce outcomes (including employment) and pathways (including registered apprenticeships, earn-while-you-learn pathways, and short-term or stackable credentials) and to improve student  student literacy in AI. However, this workforce and AI emphasis appears primarily in the program overview and unscored invitational priorities; it is not reflected in the scored selection criteria, which remain focused on need, project design, management, and evaluation quality. In future cycles, institutions may wish to consider how their proposed activities for the Basic Needs Grant connect to workforce outcomes or programs where relevant (such as supporting the basic needs of students in Workforce Pell programs) to improve their chances of receiving an award but are not required to do so.   

For FY 2026, eligibility expanded to all institutions of higher education, consortia or systems of IHEs, and public and private nonprofit organizations and agencies. In previous cycles, eligibility was restricted to community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). 

The Basic Needs Grant program has existed since Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, and colleges in at least 22 states and Puerto Rico have received funding. In FY24—the last open competition—the Department made 11 new awards totaling $9.7 million nationally. No Basic Needs Grants were awarded in FY25 due to the U.S. Department of Education’s unfortunate decision to redirect funds to other projects. The FY26 competition opened on May 21, 2026, with 2–10 awards expected and an estimated $10 million in total funding available, with awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million for the 48-month project period, and an average award of $1 million over that period. We are also continuing to advocate for additional funding for Basic Needs Grants. 

The FY26 competition is now closed. Institutions applied through Grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number ED-GRANT-26-034 by June 23, 2026, and the posting was archived on July 23, 2026. The competition was announced in the Federal Register on May 28, 2026. The Department also released a webinar and a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help applicants prepare their submissions. 

ED has announced the FY26 awards. Click here for a full list of institutions (grantees) that have received Basic Needs Grants for FY26.  

Click here for a list of past awards with project abstracts. 

The Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) Program helps institutions of higher education support campus-based child care programs primarily serving parenting students with low incomes. The program is designed to reduce one of the most significant barriers to persistence and completion for parenting students by helping institutions make child care more available and more affordable while students are enrolled.

The CCAMPIS program is the only federal program dedicated to providing child care assistance for students enrolled in higher education. Other available child care assistance, such as subsidies provided through the Child Care and Development Block Grant and state subsidies, are helpful sources of support but can be challenging for parenting students to access due to restrictive eligibility rules, wait lists, and limited funding.

Grant funds may be used for child care services, including before- and after-school care, and institutions may provide those services directly or through contracted arrangements. Under the Higher Education Act, applicants receive priority for awards when they 1) leverage significant local or institutional resources to support the activities of the grant and 2) use a sliding fee scale to serve a high number of low-income parents pursuing postsecondary education (e.g. lower costs for students based on their income).

The Department's public website is currently outdated and only lists data from the FY23 cycle. The FY23 cycle awarded 264 grants to institutions, with an estimated annual average award of approximately $317,000 per year. No award data has been posted for FY24 or FY25. The FY26 competition opened on April 20, 2026, with approximately 148 awards expected and an estimated $73.5 million in total funding available, resulting in an estimated annual average award of approximately $500,000 per year. ED has since announced the FY26 awards; see the list of FY26 grantees on ED's program page.

CCAMPIS grants are made in four-year grant award cycles. However, unlike other competitive grants, CCAMPIS awards are disbursed annually and are subject to continued Congressional appropriations, rather than being awarded “upfront” and then drawn down over the four years. Grantees do not need to reapply for their grants during their four-year award cycles. However, due to this funding model, grantees could have their funding interrupted if Congressional appropriations are significantly reduced or delayed.

Community colleges receive a substantial share of CCAMPIS awards; a Joint Center analysis found that 45% of CCAMPIS grants awarded between academic years 2017–2018 and 2021–2022 went to community colleges. Many grantees also serve large numbers of Pell-eligible students. Institutions interested in future opportunities should monitor the Department’s CCAMPIS program page, the Federal Register, and Grants.gov for the next notice inviting applications, which has been announced for FY26.

The Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and supports a comprehensive, evidence-based, public health approach to improving student mental health and preventing suicide on college campuses.

The program funds campus efforts to identify and support students at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness, and substance use disorders, and to encourage students to seek help so they can complete their studies. Because student mental health and basic needs challenges significantly overlap, this program may also support campus strategies that identify students facing housing or food insecurity as part of broader risk-reduction and referral efforts. 

Institutions should note, however, that the FY26 notice of funding opportunity lists food as an unallowable expense and states that awards may not support "housing first" policies that the Administration deems insufficient to promote treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency. In practice, GLS funds can connect students to basic needs services through screening and referral but cannot pay for food or housing assistance directly. 

The Rural Postsecondary & Economic Development (RPED) Program supports projects designed to improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students. The program is funded through the U.S. Department of Education, but, under an interagency agreement, is currently administered by the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor.  

The program is available to eligible institutions of higher education and non-profit partners working to strengthen postsecondary opportunity and regional economic mobility in rural communities. The program also connects to basic needs in important ways. In many rural communities, students’ ability to enroll in college, remain enrolled, and complete a credential is shaped not only by academic opportunity, but also by whether they can navigate practical barriers such as high transportation costs, limited child care and housing availability, and insufficient access to broadband internet and technology. By supporting coordinated, place-based strategies that help rural students persist and succeed, RPED can strengthen institutional and community capacity to reduce these barriers as part of a broader student-success and workforce-development agenda.