Microgrants aid low-income students by covering small costs

Microgrants, which consist of money raised through fundraising efforts and donations, allow schools and districts to offer smaller grants to students for items such as books, necessary clothing or supplemental college funds needed to help them persist through postsecondary education, Forbes reports.The idea of these microgrants is credited as having started through schools in the KIPP charter school network in the District of Columbia, where the Carol and Eugene Ludwig College Match Fund helps high school seniors transition to colleges with higher graduation rates, and the Carol & Eugene Ludwig Persistence Fund helps graduates from KIPP fill financial gaps that may derail their college journey.Other KIPP schools and New York-based Achievement First charter network schools also offer microgrant programs, as do some colleges as a means of helping improve student retention. A program called Raise Me also helps connect high school students to some microgrant opportunities offered at partner colleges.