March 2010 Access Update - Member Spotlight MCAN

The Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) announced that 17 communities will collectively receive more than $250,000 to support student access and success in college.  These grant opportunities are designed to help Michigan communities establish local college access networks.  These networks will coordinate programs, services, and resources that lower the barriers preventing students, particularly low-income and first-generation students, from pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities.   

Of the 17 recipients, three are NCAN members: Battle Creek Community Foundation, Muskegon Opportunity, and Kent County CAN – a program of Grand Rapids Community Foundation. The other recipients include: Baldwin Community Schools, Bay Area Community Foundation, Career Transitions, Inc., Communities in Schools of Mancelona, Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, Consortium for Community Development, Delta College, Early College Alliance – Washtenaw ISD, The Fremont Area Community Foundation, Mott Community College, Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development, POH Riley Foundation, St. Clair County RESA, and Sturgis Public Schools.
        
Fourteen of the grant recipients were awarded $8,000 planning grants.  These organizations will spend the next 6-12 months determining each community’s college access needs.  They will then design a plan to deliver college access services. Three of the grant recipients, serving Bay, Muskegon, and St. Clair counties, will receive $50,000 start-up grants to begin implementing their local networks. The first round of MCAN Grants was made possible by generous funding from The Kresge Foundation. A second round of grants will be awarded in September.

All grant recipients must also design strategies to integrate two statewide initiatives – The Michigan College Access Portal (MiCAP) and KnowHow2GOMichigan. MCAN partners with the state of Michigan on MiCAP (September 2010 launch) – a Web-based one-stop-shop to allow students and their families to plan, apply, and pay for college. KnowHow2GOMichigan is a public-awareness campaign designed to encourage and prepare low-income students and their families to take the necessary steps toward college through a multimedia public service campaign and interactive web site www.KnowHow2GO.org.