While Alongside offers an affordable and sustainable way to provide personalized mental health support and preventative skill-building for every student, figuring out how to fund new initiatives can be tricky.
There are a variety of federal, state, and local funding sources that can help districts access and implement comprehensive mental and behavioral health solutions for their student population. In this guide, we'll explore several of the most promising funding pathways to bring Alongside to your students.
QUICK LINKS:
- Federal Formula Funds
- Competitive Federal Grants
- State Specific Opportunities
- Grant Databases & Other Resources
SEE ALSO: Download the School Mental Health Buyer's Guide to help you evaluate solutions that match your needs.
- Title I, Part A - Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies.
Description: Title I, Part A provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) to support students at risk of failing state academic standards, particularly in schools with high concentrations of low-income families.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside supports Title I goals by providing accessible, tier 1 mental health prevention and early intervention support for at-risk students. Its self-directed platform helps address social-emotional barriers to learning, improving overall academic engagement and success.
- Title I, Part C – Migrant Education
Description: Provides funds to meet the unique educational needs of migratory children, ensuring they have access to high-quality education and support services despite frequent moves and interruptions.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside’s 24/7, multilingual platform is ideal for migrant students, offering mental health support in 36 languages and accessible resources that travel with the student. The tool provides consistency in social-emotional care, helping mitigate the effects of educational disruptions. - Title I, Part D – Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk
Description: Supports programs that provide education and related services to children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk of dropping out of school.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside helps meet the needs of at-risk students by providing private, stigma-free mental health support. The platform’s evidence-based interventions allow schools to identify and assist students struggling with mental health challenges, reducing dropout risk. - Title II, Part A – Improving Teacher Quality State Grants
Description: Provides funding to support the recruitment, preparation, and professional development of educators, ensuring all students have access to effective teachers and school leaders.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside supports Title II goals by offering professional development for educators focused on building skills to support student mental health and improving their own well-being. This training equips teachers with strategies to create positive learning environments, address student challenges, and foster resilience, ultimately enhancing teacher effectiveness and retention. - Title IV, Part A -- Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants
Description: Designed to improve student academic achievement by increasing access to a well-rounded education, improving school conditions for learning, and using technology to enhance education.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside aligns with SSAE objectives by improving school conditions through proactive mental health support. Its technology-driven platform provides scalable, evidence-based interventions to enhance student well-being and create safe, supportive learning environments. - Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 & 2 -- Small, Rural School Grant Program
Description: Provides funding to small, rural LEAs to help them meet state academic standards and address local education needs, with subpart 2 specifically designated for LEAs with high concentrations of low-income students.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside’s digital tools help rural schools address mental health barriers to academic success. By providing early intervention support, Alongside helps maximize limited resources and improve student outcomes. - Title VII – Impact Aid
Description: Provides funding to LEAs that are financially impacted by federal properties, such as military bases or Native American lands, to help ensure educational continuity.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside supports students in federally impacted districts by offering accessible mental health tools. Its self-guided platform ensures continuity of care, addressing stressors often faced by military and Native American families.
- IDEA—Special Education Grants to States
Description: Provides funds to support free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities, ensuring access to services that meet their unique needs.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside supplements IDEA initiatives by offering tools to address the social-emotional needs of students with disabilities. Its customizable, evidence-based activities help support individualized learning plans and mental health goals.
- McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Description: Ensures educational access, stability, and support for children and youth experiencing homelessness, reducing barriers to enrollment and success.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside’s accessible, web-based platform helps homeless students receive consistent mental health support, no matter their location. Its privacy and 24/7 availability provide a safe space for students to process challenges and build resilience.
- Project AWARE
Description: Advances wellness and resilience in education by increasing awareness of mental health issues and expanding school-based mental health services.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside directly supports Project AWARE goals by providing a scalable platform for mental health awareness, early intervention, and preventative care. The platform helps schools identify and support students experiencing mental health challenges.
- Stronger Connections Grant (Bipartisan Safer Communities Act)
Description: Funds initiatives that improve school safety and create positive learning environments, with a focus on addressing student mental health and reducing violence.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside aligns with Stronger Connections by offering proactive, scalable mental health support. Its platform helps reduce disciplinary issues, identify severe concerns like self-harm, and improve overall school safety.
- Full-Service Community Schools Program
Description: Grants are designed to fund a variety of services, from early learning opportunities to school safety initiatives to social-emotional supports.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside supports the Full-Service Community Schools Program by providing scalable, evidence-based social-emotional support for students. Its platform helps schools address mental health needs, creating safer and more supportive environments that foster academic and emotional success.
- Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV)
Description: Project SERV provides short-term funds to districts and schools that have experienced violent or traumatic events to help with recovery.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside helps schools address trauma recovery by providing immediate, confidentials mental health support for students affected by violence or crisis. Its tools promote healing, coping, and resilience, ensuring students feel supported as they recover.
- JAMS Foundation/ ACR Initiative for Students and Youth
Description: Grant funding for conflict resolution programs for students in grades K-12.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside aligns with this initiative by providing tools that help students develop conflict resolution skills and emotional regulation strategies. Its evidence-based resources help schools create positive, respectful learning environments.
- NEA Foundation Student Success Grants
Description: Funding given to educators to develop and implement a program that enhances students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills and/or supports mastery of essential academic content.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside helps students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills by offering evidence-based activities that encourage self-reflection, emotional regulation, and decision-making. These skills empower students to navigate challenges effectively and build resilience. - SC Johnson Foundation
Description: Education grants for programs that emphasize student academic achievement and advancement.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside enhances academic achievement by removing mental health barriers to learning. Its platform helps students manage emotional challenges, improving focus, engagement, and overall success in school.
- Student Upward Mobility Initiative
Description: Grant proposals to better understand and measure the drivers of PK-12 students’ later success. Funded projects develop, identify, and validate the skills and competencies that drive students’ economic mobility.
Alongside Alignment: Alongside aligns with this initiative by providing tools to identify and develop essential social-emotional skills. Its platform helps students build resilience, emotional regulation, and problem-solving abilities, all of which contribute to long-term success and upward mobility.
When the Alongside team hears about state-specific grant opportunities that align well to our solution, we will share them here. Check back often!
Here are some current opportunities:
- Massachusetts
Promoting Safe and Healthy Learning Environments - Elevating Student Voice and Well-Being
Deadline to apply: 1/10/25 - Minnesota
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MnMTSS) Competitive Grants
Deadline to apply: 1/31/25 - North Dakota
Behavioral Health School Grant
Deadline to apply: 3/31/25 - Texas
ESC Title IV Mental and Behavioral Health Training and Support Grant
Deadline to apply: 2/14/25
Stronger Connections Grant -State Level Information
Part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed by congress during the Biden administration, state-level awards have already been made for this funding, so this is no longer an open grant opportunity. If you are an LEA with uncommitted SCG dollars, Alongside is an approved provider for this grant.
Schedule a meeting to discuss further with our team!
State by State Stronger Connections Grant Information
National Information
- Grants.gov
- US Department of Education - Available Grants
- Greenlights Initiative
- American Counseling Association
State and Local Information
- Fundsnet (private funding by state)
- Education Commission of the States
- School Medicaid (varies by state)
- Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER)
Already a grant or funding recipient? Invest in services you can sustain in the long run…
How Alongside Reduces Tier 2 and 3 Mental Health Service Needs
An innovative and cost-effective solution, Alongside is an app that leverages AI to give all students access to high-quality mental health support and skill building that is personalized, culturally relevant, and available to them 24/7 all year round. Designed by mental health clinicians with ongoing input from teens, the product provides highly effective prevention and early intervention for common mental health challenges, such as stress and anxiety, that almost all adolescents face.
With an effective digital intervention, schools can offer personalized prevention and early intervention to all students. Over time, this can result in a reduction of the Tier 2 and 3 caseload for school mental health teams while meeting every student’s needs in a cost-effective way.
