We are California students who decided to attend an independent nonprofit college for many reasons – these institutions are a better fit for us, they offer the programs we want, we need to stay closer to home, we didn’t get into a public university, or we received a better financial aid package. Regardless, we depend on the Cal Grant program to make this possible and we are eager to graduate and contribute to the state as active citizens.

The state Cal Grant award provides vital financial support for California students seeking a college degree. It promotes access to college and helps make college affordable for students once they are enrolled. For the more than 28,000 Cal Grant recipients attending independent, nonprofit universities in the state, this state grant aid is a critical piece of our financial aid package.

Nearly half of us are Latino and 47% of us are the first in our families to attend college. The Cal Grant provides direct support and it is a powerful tool to help us seek upward economic mobility and a better life not only for ourselves but our families.

This has been a hard year for California college students and in this time of historic state revenues, we call on the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom to provide a long overdue investment in the maximum Cal Grant award for students attending independent, nonprofit colleges. As the state deliberates how to allocate over $75 billion in additional investments, we ask for a cost-of-living-adjustment to the award, increasing the maximum grant to $9,220. This $5.4 million investment in us—California’s low-income students—supports state goals of college access, affordability, and success.

We, the students in California’s independent nonprofit sector, have not seen an increase for over 20 years. Due to two decades of disinvestment, the award today is worth $624 less than it was in 2000. Factoring inflation, today's award of $9,084 has lost half its purchasing power, diminishing opportunities for students and placing a greater burden on us and our families.

We are not sure why we were forgotten, but limiting access and affordability to only a subgroup of California students in certain higher education segments does not only do us a disservice as students, it affects our families, communities, and the future economy and workforce of this state and country. 

We urge you to support college access and equity and increase the Cal Grant award for students like us in this budget!