HCM Strategists Announces Three Federal Financial Aid Advocacy (FFAA) Fund Grant Recipients
Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), National Skills Coalition and Young Invincibles are Newest FFAA Fund Recipients and Will Receive Over $300,000 for Advocacy Work
Washington, D.C. – HCM Strategists, one of the nation’s leading advocacy and public policy firms, has announced three additional recipients of the Federal Financial Aid Advocacy (FFAA) Fund, which is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), National Skills Coalition and Young Invincibles together will receive more than $300,000 in grant funding to support their advocacy efforts surrounding federal financial aid.
“The goal of the FFAA Fund was to find creative ways to add new voices into the national dialogue around federal financial aid,” said Terrell Halaska, managing partner at HCM Strategists. “The latest recipients of the FFAA Fund – IHEP, National Skills Coalition and Young Invincibles – are executing exciting and original ideas, all of which have the potential to make a meaningful impact on this important policy issue.”
The three new FFAA Fund grant recipients, approved projects and individual grant amounts are:
Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) ($125,000): IHEP has partnered with two organizations – Robert F. Kennedy Juvenile Justice Collaborative of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Open Society Foundations – to execute a social media campaign during National Youth Justice Awareness Month (October 2016). The #CollegeNotPrison campaign will use social tools, including videos and Twitter chats, to educate stakeholders on the issues and policies that impact justice-involved youth.
National Skills Coalition ($105,000): National Skills Coalition will organize and activate the business community to advocate for an updated federal financial aid policy by the new presidential administration and Congress. The proposal will focus on expanded support for students through state and federal co-investment, targeting both academic and occupational training programs. Advocacy efforts will include educating business leaders, social media and online efforts, outreach to policymakers, and post-election meetings with elected officials.
Young Invincibles ($75,000): For this project, Young Invincibles will pilot a “Campus Newspaper Leadership Program,” which will provide professional development opportunities for student journalists interested in covering federal financial aid policies on their campuses.
The recipients join five other FFAA Fund recipients selected earlier this year: Campaign for College Opportunity, National College Access Network, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Generation Progress and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS).
