Academic & Vocational Grants

Birth mothers/parents who have placed their child in California, or lived in California at the time of placement are eligible.

MPower Alliance wants to support birth parents/mothers in their educational and professional pursuits. An Academic & Vocational Grant from MPower Alliance can help ease some of the anticipated, and sometimes unexpected, expenses related to school, a new job, test preparation, or a training program. 

Examples of what the grant can be used for: books; parking passes; uniforms for school or job; expenses related to receiving a professional license; testing fees, etc.

Examples of what the grant cannot be used for: existing student loan debt; personal savings; or living expenses. 

Academic & Vocational Grant Guidelines:

  • Please request an Academic & Vocational Grant at least 3 weeks in advance of when you think you will need the funds. 
  • Academic & Vocational Grants are distributed on a first come, first served basis. 
  • If the amount of grant requests exceeds the funding MPower Alliance has available, you will be notified as soon as possible.
  • MPower Alliance will need some type of documentation showing enrollment such as a class schedule, payment towards classes, etc.
  • Only ask for what you truly need. This will allow MPower Alliance to distribute more Academic & Vocational Grants to more birth parents.
  • The dollar amount of the grant distributed may be dependent on the funds MPower Alliance has available. Please note that depending on the amount of the request, MPower Alliance may not be able to fully fund the request. 
  • MPower Alliance will need some sort of documentation or receipt of what the Academic & Vocational Grant has been or will be used for. MPower Alliance needs this documentation for our internal record-keeping. 
  • Payments are distributed by check or Zelle. Unfortunately at this time these are the only two methods of payment distribution we are able to offer.
  • Please note that MPower Alliance will work to its best abilities to distribute an Academic & Vocational Grant quickly. However, delays may occur from time to time.
  • If you are in a certification or training program that does not follow the typical academic calendar year, please contact [email protected] to discuss the dates of your program.

APPLY FOR A GRANT HERE.

After you have filled out an application, you will be contacted by email by a staff member of MPower Alliance with follow-up questions.