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Emergency Financial Assistance for Students

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) under the Federal CARES Act provides money to colleges and universities for emergency grants to students in accordance with the guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) has signed and returned the certification and agreement form, has received $260,869 from the Department of Education under the HEERF student portion, and intends to use no less than 50% of the CARES Act funds for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. The purpose of the money is to award emergency financial assistance to students for unexpected expenses that are a direct result of the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.

  • Total number of students at RRC eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and therefore eligible to receive an emergency financial aid grant: 48
  • Total number of RRC students who have received an emergency financial aid grant as of September 30, 2022: 33
  • Total amount that has been distributed to RRC students as of September 30, 2022: $141,885
  • Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting under CARES Act Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, 18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3)
  • Date of Report:

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for emergency financial assistance through the CARES Act funding, students must be eligible to participate in Federal Title IV financial aid programs. To determine whether students meet the Title IV federal student aid criteria, RRC is requiring that students have the 2019-20 and/or 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file. If you have not filed a FAFSA and you would like to be considered for emergency assistance, you must file a FAFSA now.

Please note this funding is only available to U.S. citizens.  Applicants must be currently enrolled and be in good standing.

Eligible Expenses.

Eligible expenses are those that are directly related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The following is a list of expenses that can be considered for grant assistance if they were incurred as a direct result of disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.

  • Food and household essentials
  • Utilities
  • Internet access
  • Healthcare
  • Childcare
  • Technology-related expenses (such as having had to buy a computer when courses moved online in the spring)

IMPORTANT: Emergency grants cannot be used to pay for expenses that are not directly related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Application Process

  1. Email Rabbi Amber Powers, Executive Vice President, with the subject line “CARES ACT EMERGENCY GRANT REQUEST.” In your email, describe the expenses you incurred and the total dollar amount spent on those expenses. Email Rabbi Powers.
  2. Attach any pertinent, supporting documents (optional).
  3. Once your request is received, within 3-5 business days, it will be evaluated according to federal and institutional eligibility requirements, and you will receive an email notification with the decision or request for more information.

If your request is approved, the funds will be issued to the direct deposit account that you have on file.  If you do not have a direct deposit account on file, the check will be mailed via US postal mail.

The Reconstructionist Network