EDUCATION SUPPORT AWARDS

In 2026, the Foundation will offer five Education Support Awards of up to $5000 each to assist low-income women with children who are pursuing education or training and who meet all stated criteria below. Awardees are notified by phone or email in late fall. Shortly after recipient notification, the list of awardees will be posted on the Awardee page of this site. Awards are disbursed in two separate installments (one each semester) over the academic year, and may be used for direct school expenses or for living expenses while you are enrolled in an educational program. Awardees will be selected based on: financial need; personal circumstance; educational path; vocational or occupational goals; and service, activist, or civic goals. The Foundation will contact awardees only. The Foundation is not able to contact each applicant about the status of their application or grant extensions to stated deadlines. Additionally, we cannot consider requests for funding outside of the formal application process or maintain information on scholarships available from other organizations. Please review the information below to determine if you are eligible to apply and for information on this year's application.

2026-27 Applicant Criteria:

must be a woman, at least 17 years of age.
must be a mother, with minor children.
must be low-income, total annual family income less than $21,640 for a family of 2; less than $27,320 for a family of 3; less than $33,000 for a family of 4. (see HHS Poverty Guidelines for larger family sizes and for Hawaii and Alaska variations).
must be currently enrolled in a program pursuing a progressive degree at a postsecondary level of education that does not duplicate a degree level already completed. A "postsecondary education" is a formal education beyond high school to obtain certification for an occupation or earning an academic credential: vocational, associate, bachelor's, master’s, doctoral, etc. "Progressive" means you must be enrolled in a program that is more advanced than any prior level of education you have obtained. Examples of progressive include, but are not limited to: enrollment in an associate degree or vocational program after receiving a high school diploma/GED, a bachelor's degree program after receiving a high school diploma/GED or associate degree, or an advanced degree such as a master's or PhD after receiving a bachelor's degree. "Does not duplicate" means that we cannot consider applications seeking support for a level of degree that that the applicant already holds: a second associate degree, a second bachelor's, etc, regardless of disciplinary focus.
pursuit of degree/certificate must be at an institution that does not discriminate on the basis of sex/gender; race/ethnicity; lgbtq+ status/identity; religion; disability; or immigration status.
must be residing in the U.S. and enrolled full time for the 2026-27 academic year in a not-for-profit, accredited institution or program located in the U.S. with a program completion date on or after April 1, 2027. The following resources will help you determine whether you meet this criteria. Not for Profit Status and Accreditation Status: College Navigator is a helpful website to help you determine if your institution is accredited and not-for-profit. Full time enrollment status: is determined by your institution. Contact your institution directly to confirm that you meet the institution's full-time enrollment criteria.

If you meet the above criteria and wish to proceed to the 2026-27 Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Support Award Application, click here.