FirstGen Forward - College Completion Grant
Funding Amount
$1,500,000
Deadline
Rolling / Open
Grant Type
Foundation
Deadline history & next window
- Cycle
- One-time opportunity
- Tracked since
- April 2026
Source: the cycle recorded on this listing. Confirm dates with the funder.
Overview
Duration: Five-year grant (2025-26 through 2029-30)
Geographic Scope: Mississippi (with focus on expanding to 23 institutions by 2030)
Focus Areas:
- First-generation student success
- College completion
- Systemic institutional change
- Closing the completion gap between first-generation and continuing-generation students
Background:
Nationally, first-generation students have a completion rate of 24% compared to 59% for continuing-generation students. In Mississippi, first-generation students account for more than 56% (approximately 92,000) of the 164,500+ students enrolled across the state's 32 institutions.
What It Funds:
Institutional transformation through four components:
- Expert Guides - Coaching to institutional leadership teams
- Data Systems - Robust data systems tracking key momentum metrics
- Regional Learning Communities - Cross-institutional collaboration and learning
- Advocacy Efforts - Elevating first-generation student needs in national and state-level policy discussions
Expansion Goals:
- Expand FirstGen Forward Network in Mississippi from 4 institutions to 23 by 2030
- Focus on 15 Mississippi Community College Board system institutions
- Include all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the state
- Build connections with local business community to support pathways to family-sustaining employment
Alignment with WHEF Goals:
- Part of WHEF's foundation pillar "Connection to Family-Sustaining Work"
- Supports WHEF's "Ascent to 55%" initiative to increase college degrees and industry-recognized credentials
- Emphasizes economic mobility through college degree completion
Contact Information:
- Jim McHale, President and CEO, WHEF
- Dr. Stephanie J. Bannister, President of FirstGen Forward
- Woodward Hines Education Foundation
- 2616 Lakeward Drive, Jackson, MS 39216
- (601) 321-5555
Past recipients of this program
Recent awards under this program (from Woodward Hines Education Foundation's IRS filings)
Community Foundation for MS
Jackson, MS · 2020
$40K
1 grant in Woodward Hines Education Foundation's 2020 filings reference “College Completion Grant” in their stated purpose. Amounts and places as reported by the funder.
What Woodward Hines Education Foundation actually gave
Source: IRS Form 990, 2024
- Grants in 2024
- 14
- Total given
- $1.04M
- Median grant
- $50K
- Range
- $12K–$250K
- By dollars: Mississippi 95%, District of Columbia 5%. Top recipient cities: Jackson, MS; Forest, MS; Clarksdale, MS.
- 7% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.
- 71% of recipients were new grantees, not repeat recipients.
Example grants
Propel Education Forum of Mississippi Inc · Jackson, MS
To identify a Mississippi-based organization to coordinate the work needed for the…
$250K
Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi (CFNM) on Behalf of Global Te Aching Project · Forest, MS
To expand access to rigorous STEM coursework, which is not currently available in…
$170K
Coahoma Community College · Clarksdale, MS
To support student success through professional development and data fluency
$134K
Itawamba Community College Foundation Inc · Fulton, MS
To increase retention and persistence efforts for African American males at Belden,…
$80K
The Parent's Campaign · Jackson, MS
To ensure a P-12 system that prepares Mississippi children to exit secondary school…
$50K
Focus Areas & Funding Uses
Fields of Work
- Education
- College prep
- Minorities
Categories
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