EducationQuest Seeking Grant Applicants

$112,211 recently awarded to six organizations

(LINCOLN Neb. July 14, 2005) – EducationQuest Foundation, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, has awarded more than $112,000 in college access grants to six Nebraska organizations – and is seeking applicants for its August 1 grant cycle. EducationQuest’s mission is to improve access to higher education in Nebraska.

EducationQuest awards grants to Nebraska nonprofit organizations whose programs enhance college access. The deadline to submit a letter of intent is August 1. A letter of intent should include information about:

• the program, including activities that promote college access
• the proposed number of participants, including the percentage more likely to attend college due to the program
• the target audience served by the program
• the evaluation and tracking of the participants’ college-going rate.

The letter of intent will determine if an organization should proceed with a full application.

For more information, visit www.educationquest.org/grants.asp, e-mail grants@educationquest.org or call Eric Drumheller at 800.303.3745, ext. 6622.

The six organizations that received grants include:

• Clarkson College in Omaha received $18,211 in continuation funding for Project HEAL: Health Education Access Ladder – a program to inform high school and middle school Latino students about college and health careers.
• Girls Incorporated of Omaha received $25,000 in continued support of its Operation D.O.R.M. program, which is an after-school and summer program that develops the skills the participants need to pursue higher education.
• Latino Research Initiative in Lincoln received $30,000 for its Latino Achievement Mentoring Program (LAMP), which provides a mentoring program for Latino students and families to encourage college-going rate.
• Lincoln Literacy Council in Lincoln received $11,000 in continuation funding for the Project for Higher Education Mentoring (PHEM), which is an adult literacy initiative designed to help low-income, first generation adults earn a GED and go to college.
• TeamMates of Nebraska State Office, based in Lincoln, received $16,000 to support the Mentoring Advocacy Training (MAT): “A Jump Start to Your Mentee’s Future.” The program provides training for mentors on how to encourage mentees to attend college and learn about available services to help them.
• United Methodist Ministries – Lincoln District received $12,000 to support The Footsteps Program, an after-school program providing career and college information to middle and high school students from immigrant families in Lincoln.

Since founded in 1998, EducationQuest has awarded over $1.7 million in community grants to Nebraska nonprofit organizations.

EducationQuest Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization with a mission to improve access to higher education in Nebraska. Through a permanent endowment, EducationQuest provides free college planning services at its locations in Kearney, Lincoln and Omaha; funds need-based scholarship programs; and provides community grants for programs that enhance college access. For more information, call EducationQuest Foundation, headquartered in Lincoln, at 800-303-3745 or visit www.educationquest.org.