Getting a Piece of the Stimulus

Economic stimulus package provides major funding opportunities for HBCUs and students

While the new Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration are both only a few months old, there already have been a number of legislative initiatives that are either pending in Congress or signed into law that will greatly benefit both historically Black colleges and universities and their students. One such initiative is the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation that will provide billions of funds for education needs across the country.  

Known as the economic stimulus package, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama includes $575 billion in direct spending and $212 billion in tax incentives. A significant portion of this funding will flow directly to state and local governments in the upcoming weeks and months as a budget lifeline to help them avert severe cuts to government services because of declining tax revenues.

As part of these efforts, the stimulus package includes funding to address education needs for K-12 schools as well as private and public institutions of higher education. The U.S. Department of Education has recently released grant applications and detailed program guidance regarding this funding. The background information in this article will give HBCUs a head start in designing programs and getting in line with their applications. Some institutions will turn to law and consulting firms, like ours, to get help to make their best cases for support.