tnAchieves Provides Additional Grant Funding for TN Promise Students

September 5, 2022

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 disbursed $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 proactive tnAchieves COMPLETE Coach to provide equally important non-financial support. Students will work with a full-time tnAchieves team member who will help ease the transition to college and 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 COMPLETE coach 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 COMPLETE provides a more level playing field,” said tnAchieves President/CEO Krissy DeAlejandro. “Thanks to Governor Lee and the General Assembly we now have the opportunity to provide a full suite of wraparound support services for our economically disadvantaged students in an effort to reverse negative enrollment trends exacerbated by the pandemic.”

This program is modeled after the successful Knox Promise program that tnAchieves developed and launched in 2019. Knox Promise increased a student’s likelihood of retaining by 156 percent! tnAchieves is working to replicate this success statewide with a specific focus on economically disadvantaged students. 

tnAchieves is a 501(c)3 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, please visit www.tnAchieves.org or contact tnAchieves President / CEO, Krissy DeAlejandro at (865) 621-9223.