Financial Resources
Campus and community resources to help students navigate finances and fund their college journey.
Free assistance is available. Meet with the Basic Needs staff: schedule an appointment.
Columbia College Financial Aid
The Columbia College Financial Aid Office assists students with the FAFSA form and in helping students access financial support services. Students with last names A-L call Lydia Browning at (209) 588-5105
Students with last names M-Z call Christa Bartels at (209) 588-5272.
Learn more online
.
Columbia College Financial Aid Emergency Grant
The Columbia College Financial Aid Office has emergency grant funding available to help stay students enrolled in classes. This grant is for students who have an unexpected expense or major life event causing student to consider dropping classes.
To qualify for the grant, student must demonstrate exceptional need resulting from a sudden and unexpected emergency.
Student must have an active preference chosen through the BankMobile system.
If possible, student must provide documentation of financial emergency (including copy of overdue bill, medical bill, etc.), and must be actively enrolled in the current college semester with classes ongoing.
These grants vary in amount from $250 to $1000 depending on financial need.
Processing time for application is approximately 2 to 3 weeks and may be delayed if application does not include all needed documents.
Funding is limited and depends on availability. Students may only receive Emergency Grant once per semester.
To apply, visit
Columbia College Emergency Grant web page.
CalWORKs
CALWORKs is a public assistance program
that provides cash aid and other services to eligible families with children. This public assistance has varying qualifications such as a person's citizenship status, age, income, resources, assets, and other considerations.
Other services include housing, food, utilities, clothing, or medical care for families that need short-term assistance.
To apply for benefits, Tuolumne County residents call the Tuolumne Social Services at (209) 533-5711. Calaveras County residents call Calaveras County Works and Human Services at (209) 754-6448. Amador County residents call (209) 223-6550.
For a complete list of how to apply, access the
County Department of Services.
TANF
Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a program that provides assistance to Native American families with children in Tuolumne, Calaveras, and Stanislaus counties. Services include cash assistance, referrals for employment, education, training, child care, transportation, and more.
To qualify, participants must have income equal or less than 200% of federal poverty level, resources must not exceed $2,000, and must be able to work and actively participate in 24 hours of work activities per week.
Check out the TANF website here for more information.
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration administer cash benefits for individuals in certain situations. Benefits include survivors benefits for people who have a loved one pass away, disability benefits for disabled individuals, and retirement benefits for those who are aged 62 or older. For more information about these programs, learn more online.
California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC)
The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) offers support for low-income, working Californians. The amount of California Earned Income Tax Credit you may receive depends on your income and family size. CalEITC may provide you with cash back or reduce any tax you owe. To find out if you qualify for the CalEITC, check out the eligibility and credit information web page.
Additionally, the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) is available for qualifying tax-filers with children under the age of 6 at the end of the tax year. For more information about the YCTC, visit the Young Child Tax Credit web page.
There is no separate application process for this support other than filing annual taxes.
*Note: The Amadaor Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) generally provides tax-filing assistance to community members. For more information, check out ATCAA's Free Income Tax Preparation and Filing web page.
