Coast Guard Foundation Offering Education and Training Grants to Coast Guard Spouses to Address Persistent Employment Challenges
Open application period: Jan. 15 – March 1, 2023
The Coast Guard Foundation is accepting grant applications from Coast Guard spouses to assist with education, professional training, and certification. The effort is aimed to address the 24 percent unemployment rate of military spouses, and the 25 percent wage gap compared to their civilian peers.
This effort comes after recent findings by the RAND Corporation that 26 percent of military personnel have faced food insecurity in recent years. More than half of those personnel were active-duty service members.
Eligible spouses may apply for a grant to support their college and professional training goals during the 2023 spring application period. Our program awards $500 grants to cover tuition, fees, supplies, and related education expenses incurred during the 2023 calendar year.
We are also pleased to again offer up to 10 $2,000 grants for spouses studying in the health, medical, dental, and wellness areas, through the generosity of Delta Dental.
What to know when applying:
- Non-military spouses of enlisted Coast Guard members in paygrades E-3 – E-8 can apply.
- Education and training programs must be at a regionally or nationally accredited institution.
- Grants are awarded in the order they are received, provided all eligibility requirements have been met.
- Priority will be given to spouses of members E-6 and under. If sufficient funds are available, spouses of E-7 and E-8 members will be offered a grant based on the date of their completed application.
- Priority will be given to spouses pursuing first degrees (associates and bachelors), licenses, and certifications. If sufficient funds are available, grants will be offered for second degrees.
Apply here.
If you have any questions about the Coast Guard Foundation’s spouse grant program, please call 860-535-0786. Our program manager, Sage Williams, is available by phone or email to assist you.
Open application period: August 1-December 1, 2023
Jan. 15 – March 1, 2023
This effort comes after recent findings by the RAND Corporation that 26 percent of military personnel have faced food insecurity in recent years. More than half of those personnel were active-duty service members.
Eligible spouses may apply for a grant to support their college and professional training goals during the 2023 spring application period. Our program awards $500 grants to cover tuition, fees, supplies, and related education expenses incurred during the 2023 calendar year.
We are also pleased to again offer up to 10 $2,000 grants for spouses studying in the health, medical, dental, and wellness areas, through the generosity of Delta Dental.
What to know when applying:
- Non-military spouses of enlisted Coast Guard members in paygrades E-3 – E-8 can apply.
- Education and training programs must be at a regionally or nationally accredited institution.
- Grants are awarded in the order they are received, provided all eligibility requirements have been met.
- Priority will be given to spouses of members E-6 and under. If sufficient funds are available, spouses of E-7 and E-8 members will be offered a grant based on the date of their completed application.
- Priority will be given to spouses pursuing first degrees (associates and bachelors), licenses, and certifications. If sufficient funds are available, grants will be offered for second degrees.
Apply here.
If you have any questions about the Coast Guard Foundation’s spouse grant program, please call 860-535-0786. Our program manager, Sage Williams, is available by phone or email to assist you.
For spouses of Coast Guard members, achieving higher education or professional licensing and certification boosts the family’s financial stability and gives them personal fulfillment. Military spouses are the unsung heroes of the Armed Forces, often sacrificing their own careers to support their military member. With each military move spouses search for new jobs, overcome licensing hurdles, lose seniority, or find they need to acquire different skills in a new market. Our goal is to relieve some of their burden and recognize what they do for our Coast Guard and nation.
Title Image: Diamond Burrus, pictured here with her Coast Guard member Petty Officer 3rd Class Devin Burris and daughters, received a Coast Guard Foundation grant in 2022 to assist in earning her bachelor's degree.
