GRAD Last Mile Fund
The Graduate Ready to Achieve Degree (GRAD) Last Mile Fund is an innovative grant program designed to provide financial support to students nearing college graduation. Launched in 2018 by the Frieze Family in partnership with the City of Boston and The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), The Fund seeks to increase college completion without stoppage and onramp them to successful careers. The Fund is for students on track to graduate within 1 or 2 semesters who experience an unexpected financial roadblock or emergency.
Since its establishment, 1,087 students across 7 schools have received $1,603,453 in GRAD Fund grants to support the last mile of their studies. As of September 2024, 82% of grad fund recipients graduated during the semester they received the grant or within 1 or 2 semesters after receiving their GRAD fund grants.
The GRAD Fund was initially piloted with five colleges and universities that served a large number of Boston residents. Today, the Fund has expanded to serve 15 colleges across the state.
Participating colleges and universities in the 2024-2025 school year include:
- Bay Path University
- Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology*
- Bristol Community College
- Bunker Hill Community College*
- Framingham State University
- MassArt, Mass Bay Community College*
- Middlesex Community College
- Northshore Community College
- Roxbury Community College*
- Salem State University
- UMass Boston*
- UMass Dartmouth
- UMass Lowell
- and Urban College of Boston
* - pilot schools
Selection criteria:
The following criteria will continue to be used as guardrails:
- Be on track academically to graduate in the next semester; or for 4-year colleges on track to graduate in the next two semesters;
- Have a demonstrated financial need; and
- Be a resident of Massachusetts. Students are not required to be graduates of Boston Public Schools, but we will track those who are.
Effort will be made to award a diverse group of recipients by gender, race, country of birth, age, etc. Priority should be given to students who:
- Have unmet financial need beyond university costs (i.e., a non-academic hardship);
- Have not registered for their final semester or paid tuition by a pre-established cutoff date;
- Have exhausted other sources of aid available;
- Are undocumented and/or DACA students with limited options for financial assistance.; and/or
- Are parents and/or veterans
How do students use the GRAD Fund grants?
Students are eligible to receive up to $3,000. The average amount awarded in 2024 was $1,431 per student.
Students apply directly to the program at their college or university. The GRAD Fund partner schools work quickly to disburse grants - the median time between the date that a student applied for funding and the date of award disbursement was 7 days in 2024.
Grad Last Mile funds are intended to mitigate all unexpected financial hardships (ex: medical bills, grocery assistance, transportation support, technological support, etc.) If other financial aid avenues have been exhausted, students can use GRAD Fund grants for tuition and fees or to clear outstanding balances before enrollment.
Donate to the GRAD Last Mile Fund
Gift Instructions
Thank you for your interest. You may make credit card donations using the form below.
To give from a Donor Advised Fund, please recommend a grant to "Boston Foundation, Inc." with the name of the fund in the grant purpose field.
To donate by check, make your check payable to "Boston Foundation, Inc." with the name of the fund in the memo field and mail to:
The Boston Foundation
PO Box 843027
Boston, MA 02284-3027
For wire or bank transfers, or to inquire about transferring other types of assets, please click here for a PDF of the fund gift instructions or contact our Fund Administration office at (617) 338-2637 or email fundadmin@tbf.org.