For many community college students, the average cost difference between stopping out and graduating falls between $500 to $1,500. This is especially true for low-income students in their final semester of study. To address this, Nunez Community College has established its Fill the Gap Fund to help students continue their studies when their financial aid and out-of-pocket contributions fall just short of tuition expenses.

“At Nunez, we believe that financial barriers should never stand in the way of a student’s success,” said Reggie Poché, Interim Vice Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships and Engagement at Nunez. “The Nunez Foundation recently launched the Fill the Gap Fund to put every contribution—large or small—toward ensuring that our students can stay enrolled, graduate and take flight toward rewarding careers.”

Fill the Gap is a needs-based giving campaign designed to help students bridge the final financial gap that remains after all other forms of financial aid, including TOPS, Pell Grants and scholarships, have been applied. The campaign is live now, but will make its debut to the public during Nunez’s Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 29.

Trunk or Treat attracts hundreds of families to the Nunez campus each October. As they make their way from trunk to trunk collecting candy with their kids, adults will encounter signs featuring QR codes that they can scan with their smartphones and donate to the Fill the Gap Fund. And donors can rest assured that their entire donation will go directly to paying tuition for a hard-working Nunez student, allowing the student to remain enrolled and continue their journey in higher education.

“Even a few hundred dollars can make the difference between completing a degree and stopping short of the finish line," said Natalie Haniford, Director of Student Success at Nunez. "Individual donations as small as five or ten dollars will add up quickly to cover those costs."

Haniford and her Student Success Team work with students daily, providing academic advising, as well as steering students toward available grants and scholarships. Despite Nunez recently being listed as one of just six affordable Louisiana colleges by the National College Attainment Network, the combination of financial aid, scholarships and student contributions frequently still falls short of the cost for a student to continue.

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to visit the website for the Nunez Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, at Nunez.edu/community/nunez-foundation to contribute to the Fill the Gap Fund today.