The Public Benefit Grant Program, a philanthropic initiative of Texas Guaranteed (TG), has awarded $94,479 to the University of Houston-Victoria LEAD (Letting Education Achieve Dreams) initiative to help fund efforts that will lead to greater opportunities and access to higher education and greater student success in preparing for and earning a college degree.

To qualify for the award, UHV-LEAD declared its intent to use grant funding to improve access to or participation in postsecondary education, college retention, and student success, with a special emphasis on the project’s benefit to students who are from low- to moderate-income families.

LEAD strategies are intended to foster, among Pre-K through 12th-grade students and their parents, a continual awareness and encouragement to complete both high school and college. LEAD is grounded in the expectation that most students with an awareness of the importance and accessibility of college, combined with academic preparation and high educational expectation that is community-wide, will enroll in postsecondary education programs.

“Our nation’s future depends on our ability to inspire students to achieve all that they’re capable of accomplishing,” said Sue McMillin, president and CEO of TG, a Texas-based, nonprofit corporation that provides federal student loan guarantees to help ensure access to higher education for millions of students across the country each year.

LEAD was one of 20 nonprofit organizations selected for funding. Overall, TG awarded more than $1.8 million for projects in 2006.

“Many families don’t have access to information or resources to understand how valuable and important higher education is—both for their families and for the communities in which we live,” said Rachel Trevino-Garcia, director of student development at UHV. “Through generous funding like this grant from the Public Benefit Grants Program, we’re able to fulfill our mission of reaching out to students and their families.”