Emergency Grant

Thanks to the Minnesota Legislature, Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) has received funding to offer direct emergency grants to students through June of 2025. This funding aims to ease financial burdens and ensure that students can focus on their education without additional stress. Whether it's food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation, or other unexpected expenses (e.g. significant reduction or disruption in salary), this grant program is designed to provide emergency support where it's needed most. Please note that grant requests to cover tuition bills and/or fees will not be approved. 

Students with approved emergency grant applications have the flexibility to receive funding through various methods, including direct deposit, virtual or physical gift cards, paper checks, or via Zelle transfer – whichever option suits them best.

To facilitate the distribution of emergency funds, Minnesota State has partnered with Beam, a company specializing in emergency funding distribution. The Beam platform offers a bias-free application process and provides a dashboard with real-time data on our emergency grant program, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the distribution process.

Eligible students must be currently enrolled at SMSU and have exhausted all of their financial aid eligibility. Award decisions will be made based on the applicant's individual situation but amounts awarded are subject to limitations. Due to limited funds available, grants will generally be a maximum of $500 and students will only be awarded one emergency grant within a twelve month period (if approved). 

Are you a student who could benefit from this emergency assistance? Please click on the following link to create an account in Beam and begin your electronic application today: https://app.bybeam.co/smsu/login 

If you have questions or need assistance with the application process, please contact the following: 

Brittany Krull
Director of Student Success
Brittany.Krull@SMSU.edu 
(507) 537-7290

Jay Lee
Dean of Students
Jay.Lee@SMSU.edu 
(507) 537-7285