MCAN offers grant opportunities to build up Local College Access Networks (LCANs) that put college in reach for more Michigan youth. MCAN has created a series of college access grant opportunities, including funds for planning, implementation, and continuous improvement.

All grants are competitive and pending the availability of funds. MCAN will not grant funds from Sept. 1–30, as it is the end of our fiscal year. Grants submitted during that time will be reviewed and notified of award status beginning Oct. 1.

If you have any questions on this process, please contact Jamie Jacobs, deputy director, for assistance with your application or for help with the online application portal.

In addition to a financial grant, MCAN will provide extensive tools, templates, and technical assistance. MCAN has recently published a guidebook for LCAN development using the collective impact framework: Charting the Course Second Edition: A Community's Guide for Increasing Educational Attainment through the Lens of Collective Impact. A great place for the LCAN leadership team to start is by reading the suite of collective impact articles by Kania & Kramer:

“Collective Impact” — Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011 →
“Channeling Change – Making Collective Impact Work” — Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2012 →
"Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity" — Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2013 →
Rereading "Collective Impact": Lessons Learned — Stanford Social Innovation Review, Feb 2014 blog →

See the LCAN page for additional resources →

LCAN Planning Grants

LCAN Planning Grants are available for up to $20,000 over the course of 12 months to conduct a strategic planning process to organize and initiate a community-based Local College Access Network (LCAN).

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LCAN Implementation Grants

Implementation Grants of up to $60,000 over two years ($30,000 annually) are available for developing Local College Access Networks (LCANs) that have already engaged in an LCAN planning process.

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LCAN Continuous Improvement Grants

Continuous Improvement Grants of up to $25,000 over the course of 12 months are available to support, grow and promote the sustainability of community-based Local College Access Networks (LCANs).

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