FOCUS FORWARD
Financial assistance for post-secondary education students currently or previously in foster care in Arizona, ages 16 – 26 years old (under age 27).
Focus Forward Fund: Assisting Foster Care Students
The AFFCF Focus Forward Fund assists students with foster care backgrounds address the curveballs life throws at you so you can keep moving forward on your educational journeys. So, when your car breaks down or you need extra help paying for textbooks and you don’t have the extra funds, it doesn’t stop your forward progress. These funds are not intended to be used for long-term, ongoing expenses or for non-emergencies.
Eligibility Requirements
To receive assistance through the Forward Focus Fund, you must:
- Have reached age 16 as a ward of the court in Arizona or in tribal foster care in Arizona (AFFCF confirms eligibility with the appropriate agency once a student submits an application.)
- Be age 16 – 26 years old (under age 27)
- Be enrolled in college/university or a vocational program (must be enrolled in post-secondary education, not dually enrolled in high school). Post-secondary education is defined as a vocational program after completing high school or undergraduate study at a community college or university.
Active employment is preferred when considering requests, but all requests will be reviewed and discussed on a case-by-case basis.
WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY
Be sure to have the following items ready to complete your Focus Forward Fund request:
- Proof of enrollment in post-secondary college or an accredited vocational training program.
- Proof of current employment (if applicable).
- A new budget form showing the current month’s income source(s) and expenses is required for each new application:
- Applicants can download the budget form from the Focus Forward application below.
- Complete a budget form to list your income source(s) and expenses for the current month in which you are requesting funding.
- The budget should not include scholarship or ETV funds unless you are receiving them that month as part of your income sources.
- Most recent unofficial transcript if student is already attending a university, college or vocational school at the time of request (determines eligibility only; funding is not based on grades.)
- A description of your need, to help AFFCF understand the situation and other ways to help.
REQUEST LIMITATIONS
Students can make up to two requests per quarter of the calendar year.
First quarter of the calendar year: January – March
Second quarter of the calendar year: April – June
Third quarter of the calendar year: July – September
Fourth quarter of the calendar year: October – December
A student cannot request the same category more than once in a 12-month period unless otherwise stated. Please see the category guidelines for additional information on request limitations.
The AFFCF Focus Forward Fund committee reviews requests as they are submitted. All payments are made payable to the vendor or reimbursed for purchases made AFTER the request has been approved. No funds are available for purchases that have been made before an application is submitted and approved.
Typical turnaround time for Focus Forward funding is two to five business days.
Focus Forward Categories
Resources available to support post-secondary education students currently or previously in foster care are listed in the relevant category. All funding requests will require reasonable and relevant cost documentation to be uploaded to the application.
