tnAchieves opens process for TN Promise students to apply for up to $1,000 grants

This week, tnAchieves opened the application for TN Promise students who need additional financial assistance.
Known as COMPLETE grants, these grants fund costs associated with attending college not covered by the TN Promise scholarship.
Eligible students are now able to apply for up to $1,000 per semester to assist with computers, tools, textbooks, transportation, food insecurity or other hardships they can document as a barrier to accessing or remaining engaged in college.
In the first week, tnAchieves reports disbursing $240,572 to 1,033 TN Promise students in 83 counties.
While eligible students will have access to this additional funding, students are also paired with a tnAchieves mentor to provide non-financial support. Students will work with a full-time tnAchieves team member who will help ease the transition to college and try to ensure students are successful throughout their entire college careers.
“Results from our Knox Promise pilot are clear; students are much more successful when they have access to a (tnAchieves mentor) and grants to ease the cost of college attendance. Students who are hungry or cannot afford tools for the TCAT or books for class have a very real disadvantage. tnAchieves provides a more level playing field,” said tnAchieves President and CEO Krissy DeAlejandro.
This program is modeled after the Knox Promise program that tnAchieves developed and launched in 2019. Knox Promise reportedly increased a student’s likelihood of retaining by 156%.
tnAchieves is a nonprofit that has provided scholarships with mentor support since 2008. It now serves as the partnering organization to the TN Promise program in 83 Tennessee counties.
To learn more about the program, visit www.tnAchieves.org.