Supporting College Students with Basic Needs Insecurities
Together we can provide critical support and practical programming, empowering each student with a solid foundation on which they can build their academic and personal triumphs.
Who is Believe
in Students?
College is a main route out of poverty, a cornerstone in the building of a great society, and a key hiring prerequisite of many employers. But far too many students are facing poverty during college, keeping them from completing degrees. Financial aid falls well short of today’s prices and many college students do not have their basic needs met: a place to live, good food to eat, transportation to and from school.
Believe in Students is the nation’s only non-profit organization built to help college students meet those basic living expenses. We do this work by providing resources directly to students to help meet their basic needs, and then by engaging those same students in sharing their stories to help create change. When students tell us what they need – we believe them.
FAST Fund
Strengthening Retention and Graduation Rates
Provides flexible, timely, and direct financial assistance to striving college students, addressing urgent needs and emergencies that can otherwise derail their educational journey.
Great Lakes Consortium
Building a Network for Real Change
Highlighting the existing gaps in the higher education system and the misalignment with the needs of today’s #RealCollege students, we aim to shed light on a pressing issue that necessitates innovative solutions.
#RealCollege Curriculm
Master Class for Higher education professionals
Highly engaging, self-paced learning taught by experienced students and practitioners to share research, best practices and personal experiences with strategies to support today’s #RealCollege students.
FAST Fund Sites Across the Country
The FAST Fund has successfully supported students facing basic needs insecurity on 45 campuses across 22 states in the United States. We are proud to collaborate with dedicated site leaders from 28 higher education institutions who administer the FAST Fund program on their campuses.
Over 90% Persistence Rate
During the pandemic, Believe in Students partnered with West Texas colleges to support students facing basic needs challenges. Odessa College, one of our valued partners, awarded $308,750 through our program from October 2020 to May 2022. This support resulted in over 140 graduates and an additional 92-97% of students persisting into the next semester over the project’s two-year span.
TOTAL DIRECT EMERGENCY AID TO STUDENTS SINCE INCEPTION
%
PERSISTENCE RATE FOR AID RECIPIENTS
STUDENTS SERVED BY THE FAST FUND SINCE INCEPTION
Reports
Faculty and Students Together
The Impact and Promise of Engaging Faculty to Support Student Basic Needs
Treating Emergencies Like Emergencies
Lessons From King County Community Colleges
Latest from the Blog
The #RealCollege Blog is presented by Believe in Students, as a space for students, presidents, educators, and more to lend their voices. This is part of our efforts to uplift student voices and empower them to lead change.
What it Means to Appreciate Teachers
Like many people I know, I spent many hours as a child “playing school” in my basement. Occasionally I had to be the student while my younger sister bossed me around, but mostly, I was the teacher. Looking back, there were a shocking number of unruly imaginary...
Letter from the Exectuive Director : March 2024
Dear Friend: We are in an extraordinarily challenging time for higher education. In 2020, the pandemic helped shed light on the issues we have long known are true: the increase in the price of college for students and the accompanying rise in basic needs insecurity...
From Legacy to Action: Reflections on Black History Month and the Ongoing Pursuit of Justice
I was a young child when Black History Month came to national consciousness. I remember my dad using the opportunity to teach me, barely in school, about the history of Black achievement and leadership in this country. As an Iowan, I learned about George Washington...
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A Special Thanks to Our Partners
