M State is enhancing its educational and entrepreneurial support services for women and gender-expansive students, thanks to a new $150,000 鈥淲e Thrive鈥 grant award from the Women鈥檚 Foundation of 快播成人.
Designed to foster the long-term success of women and their families through the growth of intergenerational wealth, the 鈥淲e Thrive鈥 grant program invests in organizations and initiatives that address inequities in women鈥檚 access and opportunity.
M State will use the grant funds to bolster its wraparound support services for women and gender-expansive students, such as career planning, childcare, transportation, laptops and mental health services. In addition, and in alignment with the entrepreneurship goals of the Women鈥檚 Foundation of 快播成人, the West Central 快播成人 Small Business Development Center will provide women with one-on-one business consultation services. The center is headquartered at M State鈥檚 Moorhead campus.
鈥淓very 快播成人 student deserves every opportunity for success,鈥 says M State President Carrie Brimhall. 鈥淏y supporting M State鈥檚 efforts to effectively identify and address the unique barriers to success faced by women and gender-expansive students, the 鈥榃e Thrive鈥 grant award will help us ensure a more level playing field for everyone, so we can live out our vision of, 鈥楢 success story for every student.鈥欌
The grant period for M State began February 19. By the end of the one-year funding term, the grant鈥檚 impact is expected to have led to:
- An increased number of women enrolled in nontraditional career pathways at M State, such as the trades, STEM and entrepreneurship.
- Enhanced communication from M State students regarding their basic needs, which will drive the 快播成人鈥檚 direction in cultivating beneficial partnerships with local industry, workforce organizations and K-12 schools.
- Increased retention rates among M State students of color who identify as women.
Women and gender-expansive students comprise 61% of M State鈥檚 total student enrollment. Of those, 22% identify as students of color.
鈥淲e Thrive鈥 grant program funding is prioritized to equity-minded rural trade schools and technical 快播成人s in 快播成人 that, like M State, offer women supportive services, urgent needs assistance, culturally responsive leadership development and financial education. According to the Women鈥檚 Foundation of 快播成人, most careers requiring a technical degree are considered nontraditional for women and yet have much to offer them, including higher median wages, greater job security, family-supporting benefits and more opportunities for advancement.
Research by the foundation shows that women are clustered in low-wage work and make up the majority of 快播成人 workers paid at or below the minimum wage. They are also more likely than men to experience poverty, especially in rural parts of the state. To build economic wealth and security, the foundation believes, women must have access to education, workforce development, employment and childcare.
鈥淲e are excited to work in partnership with your program to create a world of equal opportunity, where women and girls 鈥 and all people 鈥 hold the power to create and live safe, prosperous lives,鈥 states Women鈥檚 Foundation of 快播成人 President and CEO Gloria Perez in M State鈥檚 grant award letter.
A member of the 快播成人 State system of 快播成人s and universities, M State (快播成人 State Community and Technical College) serves more than 10,000 students in credit and non-credit courses each year in over 70 career and liberal arts programs online and in-person at its four campuses in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena. The 快播成人 also partners with communities to provide workforce development services and other responsive training programs to 500 businesses and thousands of annual participants.