Doubling Down on Doubling the Pell Grant
As the nation rebuilds from the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19, current and incoming students will require additional financial support to help pay for college. One clear option is to double down on the one mechanism we already have in federal law designed to target funding to low-income students by doubling the maximum Pell Grant award available to students.Pell Grants are the foundation of our national investment in higher education, and they help pave the way for nearly 7 million low- and middle-income students to attend and complete college. However, the current maximum Pell Grant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year college. To boost the grant’s purchasing power and help make college an option for more students who are currently in crisis, Congress should invest in and protect the Pell Grant program.
More than 80 groups support doubling the Pell Grant
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Click here for more resources about why doubling Pell matters!
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Why the Pell Grant Matters
The Pell Grant program is the foundation of college aid for over 7 million students annually, including nearly 60 percent of Black students and nearly half of Hispanic students.
New America Report: Restoring the Promise of Higher Education
New America Report: Equipping Individuals for Life Beyond Bars
CAP Report: Mounting Peril for Public Higher Education During the Coronavirus Pandemic
IHEP Report: Defend Students, Don't Raid Pell Grant Funding!
Ed Trust Report: Investing in Pell is Investing in the American Dream
UNCF Report: President of Lane College a Witness in Senate HELP Committee Hearing
How the Pell Grant Makes College Affordable
Unlike student loans, Pell Grants do not have to be repaid, eliminating or significantly reducing college debt.
New America Report: Americans Are Split on College Costs and Who Should Pay
CAP Report: Affordability Principles for Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act
CAP Report: Trump’s Latest Budget Proposal Would Deepen the Student Debt Crisis
YI Report: Changing the Expected Family Contribution Formula to Serve Today’s Students
Excelencia in Education Report: We need to expand the college affordability conversation
Lumina Report: Pell Grants cover a dwindling share of college costs as students borrow more
NCAN Policy Proposal: Restore the purchasing power of the Pell Grant
TICAS Report: Redefining Full-Time Pell Grants Reduces College Access
TICAS Report: An Arbitrary Maximum Income Cap Would Eliminate Pell Grants for Needy Students
TICAS Report: Pell Grants Help Keep College Affordable for Millions of Americans
Third Way Report: Sharing the Risk for Students' and Taxpayers' Pell Grant Investment
Excelencia Report: How can policy help Latinos afford a degree?
Who Benefits from Pell Grants ?
Most Pell Grant dollars go to students and families that make under $40,000 a year, a group currently facing a disproportionately high unemployment rate.
Strengthening the Pell Program
Congress must immediately act to double the maximum Pell Grant award and set the Pell Grant to automatically adjust for inflation each year.
Ed Trust Report: Ed Trust Welcomes Comprehensive Higher Education Proposal from House Democrats
TICAS Report: How to Secure and Strengthen Pell Grants to Increase College Access and Success
TICAS Report: Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs The Rationale and the Risks
TICAS Report: Safeguards Are Needed for Any Extension of Pell Grants to Short-Term Programs
Third Way Q&A: Expanding Pell Grants to Shorter-Term Programs
Third Way Report: Preserve the Reserve: Why the Pell ‘Surplus’ Isn’t Expendable
Third Way Report: Protecting Federal Dollars Flowing to New Short-Term Programs of Higher Education
In the News
5-1-20 Amid COVID-19, Doubling Pell Grants is the Next Urgent Need for HBCUs, Says UNCF
7-14-20 Doubling the Pell Grant is crucial for the future of our students and the economy
8-4-20 OPINION: The dire need for significant federal investment in U.S. colleges and their students
10-15-20 New Students at U.S. Colleges Drop, Worsening Campus Crisis
1-30-21 The quickest and most effective way Biden can help millions of Americans go to college
Add your voice to the chorus of support,
and let everyone know you support #DoublePell!
DYK the current maximum #PellGrant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year college? Let’s double down on doubling Pell! www.doublethepell.com #DoublePell
Add your name to the list of those in support of doubling the Pell Grant!
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Speak Directly with Experts Working to Make this Happen
Matt Owens
Association of American Universities (AAU)
matt.owens@aau.edu
Lindsey Tepe
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
ltepe@aplu.org
Viviann Anguiano
Center for American Progress
vanguiano@amercanprogress.org
Janette Martinez
Excelencia in Education
jmartinez@edexcelencia.org
Julie Peller
Higher Learning Advocates
jpeller@higherlearningadvocates.org
Mamie Voight
IHEP
mvoight@ihep.org
Wayne Taliaferro
Lumina
wtaliaferro@luminafoundation.org
Clare McCann
New America
mccann@newamerica.org
Carrie Warick
National College Attainment Network
warickc@ncan.org
Reid Setzer
The Education Trust
rsetzer@edtrust.org
Michele Streeter
The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)
mstreeter@ticas.org
Tamara Hiler
Third Way
thiler@thirdway.org
Lodriguez Murray
UNCF
Lodriguez.Murray@uncf.org
Kyle Southern
Young Invincibles
kyle.southern@younginvincibles.org