Center for Essential Needs
Financial Resources
Emergency Grants
This short term help can be used for essential items, including housing, utilities, and other unexpected expenses. You will be asked to provide an itemized list and to upload the receipts you are asking for assistance with. We also will confirm your eligibility with financial aid. Once we have all the necessary documentation and financial aid has determined your eligibility, your application will be sent to a committee for final review.
Emergency grants are available to:
- Undergraduate students.
- Graduate students.
- International students.
- Undocumented students.
Grant availability are subject to change based on current funding levels.
To Apply for an Emergency Grant
Students must:
- Be currently enrolled in 9+ units at Fresno State.
- Have a minimum 2.0 GPA.
- Complete the CEN Assistance Form.
- Complete a consent form. This consent form must be filled out for us to proceed with your application for assistance.
- Participate in a brief needs assessment with a case manager or housing navigator if their application is incomplete.
- Emergency grant recipients must also complete a pre-survey to help us evaluate the impact of our services, in alignment with reporting requirements from the CSU Chancellor’s Office.
All financial support provided will be reported to Financial Aid and may affect your
cost of attendance, unless it has been designated by Financial Aid as emergency assistance.
Additional Resources
A judgement-free space to learn and develop healthy money habits.
Workshops will be held on Mondays from Noon to 1p.m. in Family Food Science Room 110.
- Sept. 15 — Financial Wellness: This session will help you understand how money trauma can affect our daily habits and how we view money.
- Sept. 22 — Understanding Credit: Covers becoming an educated credit consumer, including credit approval evaluation, qualification factors and credit scoring.
- Sept. 29 — Car Buying: Explore key steps in car buying, including preparation, common terms and financial/credit aspects.
- Oct. 6 — Planning for Money Milestones: This session prepares students to manage finances through SMART goals, expense control and debt reduction.
- Oct. 13 — How to set Goals, Budget and Save: In this workshop, learn to set value-based goals, build a workable budget and save for the future.
- Oct. 20 — Fraud Prevention: Discover eye-opening insights into safeguarding yourself from financial fraud.
- Oct. 27 — Introduction to Banking: Learn banking basics, how to open accounts and smart banking tips in this interactive session.
- Nov. 3 — Wise Up: Experience being a financially responsible adult by choosing a career and managing expenses like housing and transportation.
- Nov. 10 — Saving with a Purpose: Saving is easier with a goal. This workshop shows how to choose goals and overcome barriers to achieve them.
- Nov. 17 — Ways to Help Avoid Fraud and Scams: Learn to stay organized, spot scams, protect yourself and respond to fraud.
In order to be considered for a Fresno State scholarship, students must be a continuing student or a new student who has applied for admission for the 2024/2025 academic year. All scholarship applicants must use their MyFresnoState login username and password to access the scholarship application and/or the scholarship directory for current year opportunities.
Please be prepared to provide two different personal statements. One statement is to give you an opportunity to tell us important things about yourself that are not addressed or apparent in the application. The second statement is regarding your career objectives.
To aid college students living with serious illness and injury, so that they may continue working toward their educational goals. Each year we provide grants for uncovered medical costs, medical technology, educational costs and living expenses.