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Coast Guard Spouses

Education grants help Coast Guard spouses earn degrees and certifications, strengthening career opportunities, financial stability, and family well-being.

Coast Guard spouses often pursue education while balancing the realities of military family life, including relocations, changing employment opportunities, and caregiving responsibilities. These challenges can make it harder to complete a degree, earn a certification, or invest in long-term career growth.

The Coast Guard Foundation’s spouse education grant program helps reduce those barriers by supporting spouses as they work toward degrees, licenses, and professional certifications. Grants help offset the cost of tuition, books, and required training, making educational progress more achievable and less financially stressful.

When Coast Guard spouses can continue their education and build meaningful careers, families gain stability, confidence, and a stronger path forward.

For military spouses, education is often closely connected to long-term family stability. Frequent moves and licensing challenges can disrupt employment and limit career growth. By investing in spouse education, the Foundation helps improve financial well-being, expand opportunity, and strengthen resilience across Coast Guard families.

In 2025, the Foundation provided 223 spouse education grants, with awards of $1,000 and $2,000 to support higher education, professional development, and credentials. These grants help spouses move closer to their goals while helping build a stronger future for the entire family.

Unemployment rate among military spouses
21%
Shannon Brown
Shannon Brown is pursuing a nursing degree at Broward College in Florida while balancing the demands of Coast Guard family life, including frequent relocations and caregiving responsibilities.

A Coast Guard Foundation spouse education grant helps offset the cost of tuition, books, and required clinical training, reducing financial barriers that can delay degree completion. With this support, Shannon is progressing toward her goal of becoming a NICU nurse, building a meaningful career while creating long-term stability for her family.

Shannon’s story reflects the purpose of the spouse education grant program: helping Coast Guard spouses continue their education, strengthen their families, and move toward the future they envision.
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